Don't know what category this should be in ... apologies if it's in the wrong one.

[mrs.chappie]

Does anyone have any idea/any statistics about how many new(ish) cars are involved in accidents and are written off? Do such statistics exist?

We are buying a car outright (no finance agreement) and my OH wants to take out GAP insurance for peace of mind, just in case we are involved in an accident and the car gets written off. The salesman strongly recommended this additional insurance, saying that he would take this additional cover himself, if he was buying a new car.

The cynical side of me thinks that the salesman has an interest in selling this additional insurance, as he probably gets some sort of incentive for selling it. But he could also be telling the truth about his thoughts on the matter, of course.

I am not strongly against it, if it gives my OH peace of mind - just wondering what other peeps think about it.

Many thanks for any replies, peeps.

[rowanwitch]

Housemate just bought a car and took this out...

It's become better value these days as cars can be written off after seemingly minor accidents... basically if the airbags deploy, and there are more than a few small dents in the bodywork you may find yourself (quite ridiculously) in a write- off situation
Even more valuable with a brand new car because of the depreciation when you drive it out of the showroom

[grasscarp]

Of course the salesman is getting commission for selling you this cover. Your own insurance is to cover accidents so why would you need to take out a separate one for a car being "written off"?

[mrs.chappie]

Thanks doc. Did you buy the car outright? (No finance deal). I've done a bit of research and some seem to think that having a finance deal makes a difference.

[mrs.chappie]

Oops, sorry ... there was only the doc's answer here when I started typing.

[grasscarp]

If you google GAP insurance you get things like this
Another common dealer fraud is the Gap Insurance when the dealer sells you a high priced guarantee. Generally the dealer promises that if your car is stolen or wrecked and your own insurance won’t pay it off, then they’ll put money toward the payoff too.

[mrs.chappie]

Thanks all. I can understand the peace of mind aspect of it. I was just wondering how many newish cars are actually written off, rather than repaired.