Here we go again - I'm getting a bit fed up

[Steve Maskery]

I spoke to the police again today. The car has been forensically examined, but they have not yet released it to me. I guess that will be Monday at the earliest now.

My car keys were in it, but not the house keys, so my next expensive job it to change all the flippin' locks. They also stripped it of one of my 2 roof bars and my spare wheel and jack. Needless to say, the bottles of booze they took were not left in there. I keep a couple of kites in the car, too, I'd forgotten about them. At least one remains. I hope it's my foil, that was expensive.

I've spent the day at my mate Charlie's house, being to him what Ray was to me, sarking a new roof over his conservatory. So I've had a very pleasant distraction all day. Home now and feel bad again.

Still there is one thing to be said for all this stress - I'm now at my lowest weight for years, and I'm not doing this diet quite as religiously as I was. I've lost 3lb since yesterday morning!

 

[DTR]

Sorry to hear that Steve. Hopefully the culprits will catch some terribly painful venereal disease.

 

[Steve Maskery]

If I had my way, they wouldn't get the chance to catch it...

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Baking, Steve. You need to do some baking. Beating the crepe out of a big lump of dough'll make you feel better.

 

[garethharvey]

Sorry to hear this, it must be incredibly frustrating for you. And even if they do get caught, the punishment will not be in proportion to the crime they have committed.

Have you considered a security camera. I bought an 8 camera system a few years ago, the entire outside of the house is covered. At least you would be able to give the police a picture of them

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have just traced the arrsole who bulldozed my garden wall with a film from my neighbour's security video. The police weren't interested as I didn't have the registration number.

 

[Steve Maskery]

That's great news, Phil, I'm very pleased to hear it.

And I've just been out and bought a new car
Well, not new, obviously, it's 3 years old, but it's only done 9500 miles, so I shall be mobile again on Wednesday.

 

[monkeybiter]

Steve, like everyone else reading this I sympathise completely, it just goes to show how powerless all us law abiding citizens can be, and I understand the effect events like this can have on 'mood'.
But to put this into perspective, you were able to buy a replacement before the insurers have even taken their pens out of their pockets, and park it outside your own house with your very enviable workshop. Just stroll around town and have a look at those around you and allow yourself just a little smug grin once in a while.

 

[Steve Maskery]

You are right Mike, I am in fact very lucky (as well as being a bit unlucky). I do still have savings from the sale of my family home, it's what I am living on. It has taken a bit of a hit with this mind, but hey, I can't be without a car, I don't want to be buying a succession of jalopies and you are a long time dead. It doesn't have to last for ever, does it?
My replacement bank cards arrived today, which is pretty efficient, and that means that this evening job is to change my banking passwords. There was a USB stick on my front door key ring and I don't actually know what was on it.
I have found a wallet I have had for years, but never used. I need to buy a coin purse (I don't like having loose change in my pocket).
I've disabled the alarm zapper, so as soon as my locks arrive I should be secure again, or at least as secure as I can expect.
This new car is a bit smaller than my old one, so I think I should be able to get it down to the patio reasonably easily. With my old one, it was possible but I had only an inch or two clearance each side. I'm hoping I shall be able to drive this in, turn it round and drive out again. I've got to clear the area first, it is covered in firewood at the mo!

I have been thinking about changing my car for the last few years, but I've never found exactly what I wanted and as my car had ceased to depreciate and was as scruffy as could be, I had no qualms about using it in place of a pick-up truck to take stuff to the skip, for example. Now I shall have to be a bit less gung-ho with it.

When I saw this car on t'internet I knew it was perfect. A little older than I had wanted, but exactly the right spec, even my preferred colour. It has only been in the showroom two days so the salesman wouldn't move on price, which was already lower than I expected to have to pay to get what I wanted, but I did get a set of roof bars out of him. So happy bunny about that.

He is trying to sell me gap insurance. Is it worth it? Has anyone here had it and used it?

 

[monkeybiter]

my car had ceased to depreciate

I'd never thought of it like that. Suddenly I feel financially astute.

 

[marcros]

He is trying to sell me gap insurance. Is it worth it? Has anyone here had it and used it?

GAP insurance usually covers that chunk of depreciation that a brand new car looses as soon as it leaves the forecourt. If you buy brand new, as soon as you leave the forecourt, you have a used car, so there is a difference in price if it is stolen/written off. GAP insurance covers only this difference, so you can buy a replacement brand new car.

On a 3 year old car, you shouldn't have this issue. You buy a 3 year old car, and if it is written off, the value is a 3 year and a few days old, with no real difference in value.

Personally, I would consider it on a brand new or new but preregistered car, but anything over a year old, I wouldn't. Your money, your choice though.

 

[Steve Maskery]

But this GAP insurances lasts for 3 years, for £299. So say it becomes worth half what I pay now, and gets written off, the insures pay me and this insurance pays out the same again. It seems a bit strange to me, TBH.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Sorry to learn of your troubles Steve but you sound to be getting straight at last also the theft has prompted you to upgrade your car.

Last July Bron and I bought our new Yeti and we took out gap insurance but never ever again from a car dealer. In 2014 we bought a new Fabia Monte Carlo and took out the main dealer gap insurance at £399 for the three years but when we traded the Monte in last year we were more streetwise so shopped online; we saved a heck of a lot of money by going with LV and the online application was very easy as was getting the quote.

Better luck for the future Steve.

Kind regards, Col.

 

[Eric The Viking]

As you know, Steve, my Internet access is erratic at the moment, so only just now read this...

Really sorry to hear the bad news, but glad you have found a car already. We have been burgled several times: you feel violated - it's a lot more horrid than just the loss of things.

E.

 

[pcb1962]

But this GAP insurances lasts for 3 years, for £299. So say it becomes worth half what I pay now, and gets written off, the insures pay me and this insurance pays out the same again. It seems a bit strange to me, TBH.

It does seem very cheap for what you potentially get from them. I've bought a brand new car this year and paid £600 for 5 years gap insurance, not from the dealer, I got it from car2cover
There are 2 types, one will pay you the difference between what your insurance co pays out and what it costs you to replace with same age and mileage, the other gives you the difference between your payout and a brand new car, which could be tens of thousands in 5 years time. For £120 a year that seemed like a good deal to me.

 

[AJB Temple]

I have used it when buying new motorcycles. The gap insurance covered the difference between depreciated insured value and new replacement. It was £200 and the reason I did it was certain motorbikes are like thief magnets in London, even when data tagged and fitted with a tracker, immobiliser and alarm.

 

[DiscoStu]

My understanding of gap insurance is:

Say you buy a car for 10k and pay £1000 deposit. A year later you have an accident and the car is worth £7k and there is £8k of finance left on it. Then gap insurance pays the £1k shortage on the finance so you're not in negative equity. Other people have told me it's like a new for old option but that's not how I read it. Worth being really sure what you're getting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My daughter has just taken one out, hers was definitely sold to her as that she would get the full value back.

 

[Steve Maskery]

There are (at least) two types, it would appear. Back to original invoice price and replacement cost of a like-for-like vehicle.

 

[RogerS]

There are (at least) two types, it would appear. Back to original invoice price and replacement cost of a like-for-like vehicle.

Who decides what constitutes the 'like-for-like' ?