BMW sales - add-ons

eddiem74

So I am looking a picking up a 172 5 Series and after all the figures were done the following little extras were also suggested / included in the pricing, totaling around €1,300:

€300 Gardx - Nano type coating
https://www.gardx.co.uk/

€399 Smart Insurance: "Provides a small SCRATCHES body repair system that will keep your vehicle in showroom condition, without compromising your no-claims bonus."
https://www.joeduffy.ie/offers/finance/smart-insurance/

€599 Shortfall Insurance: in the event of a write off this covers the difference between the insurance payout and invoice price of the car, so in theory you can get back into something current of similar standard.
https://www.joeduffy.ie/offers/finan...et-protection/

Now including the overall €1,300 in the financing of the car does not make a massive difference I suppose but just wanted to see what the general feeling is on this stuff -- value in it or just like every after sales add-on a money racket/gimmick...

1jcdub

eddiem74 wrote: »

So I am looking a picking up a 172 5 Series and after all the figures were done the following little extras were also suggested / included in the pricing, totaling around €1,400:

€300 Gardx - Nano type coating
https://www.gardx.co.uk/

€399 Smart Insurance: "Provides a small SCRATCHES body repair system that will keep your vehicle in showroom condition, without compromising your no-claims bonus."
https://www.joeduffy.ie/offers/finance/smart-insurance/

€699 Shortfall Insurance: in the event of a write off this covers the difference between the insurance payout and invoice price of the car, so in theory you can get back into something current of similar standard.
https://www.joeduffy.ie/offers/finan...et-protection/

Now including the overall €1,400 in the financing of the car does not make a massive difference I suppose but just wanted to see what the general feeling is on this stuff -- value in it or just like every after sales add-on a money racket/gimmick...

Don't bother with the nano coating. It's the biggest ripoff. The only item worth taking is the smart insurance. My friend has this and he had to get a scuffed bumper and damaged rim repaired under the policy.

Seanieke

eddiem74 wrote:

€300 Gardx - Nano type coating

Got that on our Mazda, wash it all the time with the specified 0ph wash, I can tell you it's a waste of money.
I have a Caddy van purchased the same time that gets washed with TFR & looks exactly the same.

tretorn

I am thinking about paying the shortfall insurance on a car, its 499 euros, is this a waste of money.

I thought it was a good option, if the car is stolen within three years I get the invoice amount back, ie the insurance shortfall. Im thinking I might regret it if I dont take it, is there a catch.

Lumen

What are the odds of a car being stolen in the first 3 years? 1%?

tretorn

The coverage is for fire damage, theft and write off.

A pals Range Rover was stolen outside her house.

I would kick myself if I don’t pay it and something happens.

I don’t know what to do now, do most people not pay this.

dudara

We were offered the shortfall when we bought our BMW, but to be honest, I couldn’t see the real value.

I would take the Smart insurance though. Small little scratches (e.g. paint chips fom gravel, car park door scrapes) are really irritating to see, especially on a high value car. I’ve kept our car immaculate and yet there is still an annoying amount of these small marks that we didn’t cause

mickdw

If it's 499 for 3 years, shortfall insurance is worth it imo.
I'm always alittle uneasy about such cover as it goes beyond what insurance is supposed to do. Instead of putting you back to financial position before write off, it puts you far ahead of that to the point that there is a danger of people writing off a car to get the free new car after 3 years.

bazz26

Typical third party product upselling with very healthy commissions for the dealer on a lot of that stuff.

Personally myself I didn't bother with any of it.

tretorn

The smart insurance sounded great until I looked at it in more detail.

It only covers scratches up to six inches. After that you have to pay 250 euros per scratch and you probably have to go to a main dealer for repair work.

These extra arent a huge amount in relation to the cost of the car but hard to know is it better to refuse them all.

Del2005

bazz26 wrote: »

Typical third party product upselling with very healthy commissions for the dealer on a lot of that stuff.

Personally myself I didn't bother with any of it.

They all sound like the extended warranties which some retailers try to push and the advice from consumer organisations on them is the same as this, no thanks. They are a handy way to make extra money on a sale for the garage

Widdensushi

I wouldn't go for any of it either, they catch you in the smallprint and have the dice loaded in their favor

R.O.R

tretorn wrote: »

The smart insurance sounded great until I looked at it in more detail.

It only covers scratches up to six inches. After that you have to pay 250 euros per scratch and you probably have to go to a main dealer for repair work.

These extra arent a huge amount in relation to the cost of the car but hard to know is it better to refuse them all.

You sure on this?

On the product I'm aware of, if the scratch isn't able to be smart repaired then there is €250 towards the cost of the repair in a bodyshop. Unlimited repairs up to a total of €3,000.

Still wouldn't bother with that or Gard-X myself but would seriously think of Return To Invoice insurance, especially if financing the car.

Tails142

Insurance is a scam for anything you could afford to pay for yourself should it ever happen.

The only thing you really need insurance for is your house, as if fire strikes and you have a total loss, you and your family won't be left living under a bridge.

This type of scratch insurance and getting the invoice value on a total loss , if you did get a scratch, just pay to get it fixed. They are making money on this insurance, so that means the average person who buys it, never gets the value. Yeah it'd be nice if your car burns 2 years down to be back in a new one, but how many people do you know have had their brand new car go up in flames? Just keep the cash in your pocket and spend the money repairing scratches if it ever happens.

mickdw

That insurance covers write off for any reason as well as theft as far as I know.
No doubt it makes money for insurers.
Take a 40k car with insurance value of 20k at 3 years. Shortfall pay out is then 20k so they could afford to pay out on 1 in 40 policies. The incidence of write off or theft within first 3 years would be far less than 1 in 40 in sure.
Still, it's fantastic cover when you do need to claim on it.

tretorn

Yes, it covers loss due to flooding, fire and theft as well as write off.

I’m not buying the car through finance but it could be a great help if car is stolen.

Del2005

mickdw wrote: »

That insurance covers write off for any reason as well as theft as far as I know.
No doubt it makes money for insurers.
Take a 40k car with insurance value of 20k at 3 years. Shortfall pay out is then 20k so they could afford to pay out on 1 in 40 policies. The incidence of write off or theft within first 3 years would be far less than 1 in 40 in sure.
Still, it's fantastic cover when you do need to claim on it.

The thing is that you can replace your 3 year old car with a similar one, why would you go new again when you were perfectly happy to drive a 3 year old one till it got stolen or destroyed?

Stallingrad

All garbage. Bought a BMW with Smart insurance, had one stone ship repaired, could have done better myself. A small dent on a the roof was not covered. Does sound like good value until you find the exemptions.

tretorn

Del2005 wrote: »

The thing is that you can replace your 3 year old car with a similar one, why would you go new again when you were perfectly happy to drive a 3 year old one till it got stolen or destroyed?

You would go new again if the dealer insurance covered it. You would presumably have full three year warranty on the new car, I must check this out.

Im trading in a car so I will ask does the return to invoice include the trade in for my car. I got fifteen thousand for my car so Im paying 26,000 for the new car which is on paper worth 40,000. If I only get 26,000 back there is no point in taking out this insurance.

Its a headwrecker.

Del2005

tretorn wrote: »

You would go new again if the dealer insurance covered it. You would presumably have full three year warranty on the new car, I must check this out.

Im trading in a car so I will ask does the return to invoice include the trade in for my car. I got fifteen thousand for my car so Im paying 26,000 for the new car which is on paper worth 40,000. If I only get 26,000 back there is no point in taking out this insurance.

Its a headwrecker.

You are choosing to go new again while you were perfectly happy to drive a 3 year old car before, so if the car wasn't stolen or written off you.

Insurance is all about shared risk. If they can write a policy giving cover of 5 figures for €500 then there must not be many claims. You pay nearly as much for a TV costing a few grand.

tretorn

There is a difference though in driving a three year old car that has only been driven by me as opposed to buying a three year old car driven by someone else.