The Importance of Automobile GAP Insurance

Automobile Gap Insurance is an interesting development in the world of car insurance. This specific type of insurance came into being primarily because of the ever-rising costs of new cars.

In the early 1980s, car dealerships began offering "GAP" or "guaranteed asset protection" insurance as a way for consumers to ensure that should their car be totaled by an insurance company, they would have a means for covering the difference between the car's actual worth and what its current "fair market" value might be.

It is a well-known fact that cars lose their value as soon as they are driven off the lot, but many people aren't aware that a car can lose as much as 20 percent or more of its value immediately! When you still owe $20,000 on a car loan, but the insurance company says the totaled car is only worth $15,000, the company that you obtained your car loan through is not going to simply "write off" the $5,000 difference.

The following is an example of how Gap Insurance works:

You Purchase a new $20,000 vehicle.
Your vehicle is totaled 12 months later.

Your loan balance $17,000
Your Auto Insurance Company Settlement $14,000.00

Your Deductible - $500.00

Your auto insurance company's final settlement $13,500.00

Gap Insurance Pays $3,500.00

So Gap Insurance will cover the difference between the actual cash value of the car or what the insurance company will pay, and your remaining loan balance. Gap insurance will eliminate having to pay the difference (hundreds or even thousands of dollars) and possibly even save your credit history.

I have seen people who owed $5,000 and more on a car they didn't have anymore, because it was wrecked and their insurance company declared the car a total loss. The insurance company paid off the car leaving the owner owing $5,000 on the loan. They are then faced with having to pay the $5,000 or have their credit ruined.

Gap Insurance is absolutely essential to protect yourself if you are financing a vehicle. Get more information on Gap Insurance today.

Tony Iorio
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Some General Points On Getting a Good Car Deal!

Generally speaking, what a car dealer is willing to sell a car for depends a great deal on the supply and demand of that particular vehicle.

If there is a high demand for a certain car, or if the supply of that vehicle is low you can expect the dealer to hold the line on price. In some cases when very popular new models come out and the supply is low some car dealers will not sell the vehicle unless you are willing to pay more than sticker price!

There are always people willing to pay above sticker to get these new vehicles!

On the other hand, if the demand is low, or there is a large supply of a particular vehicle you should be able to get the dealer to give you a big discount.

You should check with a few different car dealers and get a feel for what they are willing to do. Don't rush into anything. Go in with the attitude that you are expecting a big discount. Compare and see what you can get out of them.

Remember, regardless of whether you are buying a high line car or a cheap one it's up to you to not let the sales person get the upper hand and take control of the situation. Don't be pushed into anything. Let them know you are going to shop at another dealer before you make your decision. Keep them honest and you will get the best deal that you can get on any particular car.

Also get some free price quotes at: http://www.insidercarsecrets.com/newcarquotes.html

Tony Iorio

Watch Out for the Inevitable Flood Damaged Cars Coming Into the Used Car Market!

You can be sure that tens of thousands of flood damaged vehicles will indeed start showing up on used car lots across the country. Many of the car dealers won't even know that they have flood damaged cars in their inventory.

In spite of the efforts of law enforcement and insurance officials many of these cars will be purchased through salvage auctions, and some shady characters in the car business will take advantage of certain state's laws to end up with a "clean" title. There will be no indication on the titles that these cars were flood damaged, even though many states (but not all - that's the key) require such vehicles to reflect either "salvaged" or "flood damaged" on the title.

A group of insurance investigators and Louisiana law enforcement officials are building a data base of these flood damaged vehicles. So far they have over 205,000 vehicles listed. You can access the data base at http://www.nicb.org

If you're looking to buy a used car read Tips For Spotting Flood-Damaged Vehicles and be sure to get a Carfax report.

The fact is that this is an ongoing problem with or without the recent hurricanes. There are always some flood damaged and salvaged vehicles that make it back into the marketplace. Use your head and always get a Carfax report. Always!

Tony Iorio