Why You Need to Have GAP Insurance When Leasing a Car
A very important thing you need to have when leasing a car is GAP insurance.
GAP stands for Guaranteed Asset Protection (also referred to as Loan/Lease Gap Coverage) and it's a type of insurance that protects you from owing any money in the event that your car is totaled or stolen.
It's a minimal fee and many leases actually include it at no cost, but you need to make sure it's on the contract.
The reason you need GAP insurance is because most insurance providers pay out the actual cash value of the vehicle if it's stolen or totaled.
Since cars depreciate quickly in the first 3 years, chances are you will owe several hundred or even several thousand dollars to the leasing company to make up for the difference.
This is a simple thing to check, but it could save you a lot of money.
3 Steps Every Car Buyer Needs to Take to Save Maximum Money
The key to getting the best deal is to gather price or lease bids from as many local dealers as possible. Then shop that best price around until no one can beat it. Here are the steps:Step 1 Get Prices From My Trusted Network
Select the vehicle you're interested in to see if there are local dealers in my network who will provide you with their best upfront price. You will get direct access to an internet sales manager who you can further negotiate with online (no need to visit dealership).Step 2 Get Prices From TrueCar / CarsDirect
TrueCar, and CarsDirect are my top 2 online price quote recommendations. These services show you pre-negotiated prices from dealers closest to you - and the deals are usually pretty decent. But remember, you can still negotiate further.Step 3 Complete my Checklist
Follow this up with my checklist to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of savings.- Gregg Fidan
Each week, I'll keep you up-to-date on the latest car deals and news that might affect your purchase. This includes...
- Best Rebates, Incentives, and Lease Deals
- Latest Car Buying Scams and Tricks
- The Best & Worst Time to Buy a Car
- Which Cars You Should Avoid
About The Author
Gregg Fidan is the founder of RealCarTips. After being ripped off on his first car purchase, he devoted several years to figuring out the best ways to avoid scams and negotiate
the best car deals. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject of car buying and taught thousands of car shoppers how to get the best deals.
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