Buying an 18 month old approved used car from a main dealer,  mid range car, costing about 15k when part ex considered. No dealer finance needed.

There are a vast range of upsells which are bundled into packages to protect against things I didnt even realise were problems, which I have in the past declined. Wondered if there are any views that any of these are worth it…

Basic package contains these and costs £997 for 4 years bit less for 3 yrs

– Autoglym lifeshine – protects paintwork against UV and contaminants, upholstery (which is leather) from marks and stains

– Wheelseal – prevents brake dust sticking to the alloy wheels which probably causes some problem

– GAP insurance

I can get all this plus a product which looks like it pays for bodywork repairs so I dont have to claim for those on insurance, and this will set me back £1492  for 4 years

And I can add to this tyre protection which pays for punctures and pothole damage for the princely fee of £1796 for 4 years

I usually keep cars for  6-8 years, and am not generally obsessive about maintaining showroom condition. (Kids, dog, mountain bike make this difficult)

So STW, does anyone think any of these are worthwhile?

No. Bank that money over 4 years and use it for any of the above – if needed.

Gap insurance is only of use when taking finance

Ask yourself why the dealer is offering these. Assuming that they aren’t a charity they are presumably making money (from you) out of them.

Wonders how small the small print is for tyre pothole damage…

– Autoglym lifeshine – protects paintwork against UV and contaminants, upholstery (which is leather) from marks and stains

So they wash it and wax it?

– Wheelseal – prevents brake dust sticking to the alloy wheels which probably causes some problem

What problems? First I’ve ever heard of that and I passed my test in 1990.

– GAP insurance

No idea about this but I don’t doubt that it’s something you could buy on its own if you needed it. Do you need it? I thought it was something to do with protecting against negative equity if you have to return a lease vehicle early.

I can get all this plus a product which looks like it pays for bodywork repairs so I dont have to claim for those on insurance, and this will set me back £1492 for 4 years

But you have insurance. That’s an extra £500, how much is your excess?

And I can add to this tyre protection which pays for punctures and pothole damage for the princely fee of £1796 for 4 years

That’s £300. How much are you planning on spending on puncture repairs in the next four years? Buy a spare if you don’t have one. Tyre damage from potholes – when has that ever happened to anyone, that’s surely vanishingly rare?

… ie, what Jimmy said.

There are no circumstances where the “additional services” offered by a dealer are either necessary or good value

You can buy a can of wheel seal for £13 and use it whenever you wash your wheels.

Gap insurance could be useful, but you can buy it much cheaper privately.

The other things are just a waste of time, and serve no purpose other than adding about £3.5k too the dealers profit margin on your purchase.

GAP insurance is for finance agreements, but there are types of it that basically top-up an insurance write off back to the original price paid. Check out ala.co.uk for an online supplier.

Gap is worth having, but only at the right price and a dealer will want 400-600 quid for it.

SMART repair cover? Are you likely to spend £1k sorting out scratches in the next 4 years?

Pothole damage? Ditto.

They are all forms of insurance, and insurance companies exist to make money.  Out of you.

Always look for third party options on insurances as the dealer won’t be cheap! Likewise for stuff like car hire excess, you can usually get cover for under 30 quid for that by shopping around.

I had lifeshine or equivalent on a couple of cars. Not worth it IMO. Look at the list of exclusions to the guarantee (which include ‘poor prep and application by the dealer’) and basically you’re stuffed (see also clauses that mean you’re probably not covered if you get it washed at a local place):

-Neglect or lack of reasonable care or the use of cleaning procedures contrary to standards recommended

-Specific damage caused by use of products other than Autoglym products.

Wheelseal sounds like something that a good wash would sort out anyway. I just can’t imagine any sort of treatment keeping wheels completely free of brake dust.

Gap insurance covers the shortfall between any outstanding finance and the insurance payout if the car is written off. No finance = no gap insurance needed.

No amount of wheel protection will permanently stop brake dust, unless you’re massively anal and rinse off the wheels after every drive.

Depending on the terms of the Lifeshine, maybe. I got a deal with mine where some company comes and gives a valet and applies a ceramic coating every year for 4 years, cost me about £400 and considering the price of getting that done privately I thought it worthwhile. On the other hand £400 is a lot of mini-valets and premium washes at the local hand car wash/money laundering place

Tyre damage from potholes – when has that ever happened to anyone, that’s surely vanishingly rare?

You haven’t done many miles around deepest darkest Fife then? Mrs has had two tyres ruined in the space of about 3 months on one road into our village. I think it may be down to the road repair department’s policy of just pouring hot tarmac into water-filled potholes, patting it down with a shovel and calling it a day.

I wouldn’t bother with any of that, maybe GAP insurance is worth looking at if your employment situation isn’t too secure but even then they’ll likely have a lot of clauses in it to avoid paying out.

Autoglym Lifeshine – appears to be a ceramic coating. They can be useful in protecting paint (more specifically the clear coat) as they are harder wearing than wax. If you don’t want to ever wash and wax your car then maybe look at it – however to be done properly it needs to be done under controlled conditions by someone that knows what they’re doing. I would get it done separately by a car detailer if I wanted it, not by a car dealer (although they may contract it out).

Wheelseal – sounds pointless to me. I use iron remover once a year to decontaminate (costs £10-20 for a bottle and just needs a few sprays after washing them and leaving 5-10 minutes) and just wash them between, I have tried wheel wax but wasn’t too impressed.

Not a chance I’d be paying a grand+ on top of a £15k car for wheel sealant (get a thing of G3 ceramic sealant for £30 or something and do it yourself if you’re bothered) and a polish & wax. Coverage for bodywork damage – I can’t even start to imagine the caveats attached to that…

Thanks all. As expected, but wanted to check. I’ll decline the upsells 🙂

– Wheelseal – prevents brake dust sticking to the alloy wheels which probably causes some problem

– Autoglym lifeshine – protects paintwork against UV and contaminants, upholstery (which is leather) from marks and stains

Not a problem if you clean your car.

GAP – up to you, but yes useful. But not from a dealer, they will rip you off.
It protects the difference between the value of the car and the amount you have on finance. Drive it out the showroom and write if off – your insurer will give you market value (say £15k), but you may owe £19k to the finance company. GAP covers the £4k difference so you aren’t out of pocket.

If you want any of these products, get a local detailer to correct the paint first and then apply them properly.

That said…

Cougar
So they wash it and wax it?

It’s not a wax. The exterior component is a ceramic sealant.

What problems? First I’ve ever heard of that and I passed my test in 1990.

It stains the wheel, I’ve got this on my car wheels and even fallout remover doesn’t touch it. Not an issue apart from the wheels look permanently dirty.

<p style=”text-align: right;”>I took out GAP insurance for a non-financed used car. If the car is written off in the first 3 years the policy gives me the difference between the insurance payout and original purchase price. £110 for 3 years cover. Bought the policy from broker and not the Dealer.</p>

Like the Flying Ox, My wife and I have wrecked tyres (and wheels!) on local potholes. 4 tyres and three wheels in the last five years. Sounds like the roads on the (cheap) edge of the New Forest are similar to the ones in Fife

That said, I would still ‘self insure’

I would echo that you’re better off finding a good local car detailer to sort any paint issues

get the car to a “Good” detailer. that will set you back about 500 quid. It will look better and last longer than anything they will put on it.

Only you know if you need gap insurance.

If you bump someone youll be going through the insurance anyway. otherwise pay using the money youve saved.

– Autoglym lifeshine – protects paintwork against UV and contaminants, upholstery (which is leather) from marks and stains

Some sort of ceramic sealant, it’s basically poncy long lasting car wax. And TBH I’d not trust a dealer to apply it properly as it requires the car to be absolutely clean. Washed, dried, clay bared, bug/tar remover, machine polished and then ceramic wax sort of clean. Not just passed to the apprentice, jet washed and the wax applied. If you really want it, either do some googling and DIY it or pay a detailer.

– Wheelseal – prevents brake dust sticking to the alloy wheels which probably causes some problem

It kinda works, I use a product on my MG’s wheels, it doesn’t last forever so unless you plan to keep up with it then it’s not worth it. Just buy some decent alloy wheel cleaner. They still get covered in brake dust, but it doesn’t get embedded in the surface like it normally does and wipes off with a wet cloth.

– GAP insurance

Probably worth it if you’re on finance loan as as your “£15k” car is maybe worth ~£10k privately tomorrow, and if you crash then the finance company will want £15k but the insurance will only give you £10k.

I can get all this plus a product which looks like it pays for bodywork repairs so I dont have to claim for those on insurance, and this will set me back £1492 for 4 years

That’s a lot of chips away. Seems pointless unless you plan to hand it back whilst still under fincance.

And I can add to this tyre protection which pays for punctures and pothole damage for the princely fee of £1796 for 4 years

£1800 to protect against a puncture? Unless it’s something really exotic that’s about the cost of a full set of alloy wheels and tyres!

I am 25yrs + in the motor industry and i purchased a car in similar circumstances to you recently.  Cash, 2yrs old and from a swanky main dealership (I had to go up a escalator to collect my car 🙂

Anyhow they sold me the car then asked if i would follow up with a meeting with the business manager.  That meeting lasted about 10 seconds when i told her i would not be taking finance, gap insurance or any paint protection.  I did take the leaflet for the ‘night kit’ they were advertising for £1500 as i planned to do that to the car.

Once i got the car home it was lanoguarded underneath which cost me £70.  I claybarred, polished, waxed etc which i already had all the stuff and it will be good for 12 months.  It got a puncture in a run flat which destroyed the tyre within a couple of weeks so that was painful for £180 but i still think im quids in.

Oh and the night kit i did myself for about £3-400 all in.

What’s the “night kit”?

im intrigued as to what a night kit is

…headlights! 🙂

Or?…

Fundamentally the car isn’t really the product: the finance and all the added crap is. The bulk of the sales guy’s commission is based off the extras they can flog you.

Lifeshine is good stuff, in the right hands. It’ll be applied in about 20 minutes by a monkey who won’t understand the difference between a DA sander and a DA polisher though so avoid. I actually ask dealers not to wash my cars, under any circumstances. Take it to a detailer and get it properly done. It should take 2 to 3 days if correctly applied, the bulk of which on an 18month old car will be polishing the swirls out from the last owner’s “care”. The interior stain protection treatment is total snake oil.

They are all forms of insurance, and insurance companies exist to make money.  Out of you.

Fancy wax isn’t insurance. But of course insurers are profit making companies. That doesn’t mean insurance isn’t worth buying.

Is someone going to enlighten us all as to what a ‘night kit’ is then?

Please tell me that “enlighten” was intentional there.

Lifeshine is actually pretty decent, but as others have said the dealer won’t do a good job of applying it.

My car had LifeShine applied – the dealer gave me it “free” to close the deal. First time I washed the car I spent an hour correcting the paint with polish or a claybar on all the blemishes and little scratches they had just applied the LifeShine on top of.

The only thing worth getting from a dealer when you buy a car is a discounted service plan, if its offered. A lot of dealers will give you a pretty decent discount on servicing if you buy 3 years upfront with the car.

Please tell me that “enlighten” was intentional there.

😎

You can buy Lifeshine kits off ebay for £15 or so and you’re likely to do a better job applying it.

Buy GAP insurance if you want it from elsewhere (I’ve used click4gap before), and spending the rest on a proper detail and ceramic coat from a proper detailer will get you very smooth shiny paint that dirt just falls off when you wash it.

How about a “knight kit” which is some scanning LEDs up-front, a talking computer called KITT, some armour plating and a bracket to hold a jousting lance.

I never take anything, although do think a return to invoice type GAP policy (bought online) can be a good shout if it’s a higher risk car for theft.

My best mate, who loves a kerb, get’s his money worth out of every single alloy wheel policy he buys for about £200…

To answer the question directly – no.

The only thing worth getting from a dealer when you buy a car is a discounted service plan, if its offered. A lot of dealers will give you a pretty decent discount on servicing if you buy 3 years upfront with the car.

This ^^^ is good advice.

The wheel seal thing, if you get the right product wont stop brake accumulating but will mean it doesn’t bite into the top coat of your wheels and make it pretty difficult to remove. I’ve used G techniq on my wheels and they can get a good build up of dust but a jet wash and a clean off with soapy water will have them beading again and shining. without the need to iron removers or other such harsh products.  Key is in the application but I’ve had 2 years out of my last application and that did for 2 cars and was about £40. I would in no way be paying a dealer to do it because it will be massively over priced and probably the YTS kid will do it badly.  That goes for all the extras they offer. You will be able to get any of them cheaper independently if you really need them.

whats the Night kit!!!!!!!!!

Oi, @TheLittlestHobo, we need an answer!

I’m betting it’s just a set of something dull* like LED bulbs.

Because if it’s not something like this then it’s a letdown.

*I’ll get my coat.