Does GAP cover an uninsured car?

Answer 1

Yes and no. In order to recover a GAP claim you would most likely have to provide proof of a claim to the dealer. However, you won't receive any money for the simple fact that the insurance paid for the total loss and all GAP really does is cover any balance left over. For example, if your car's worth 15,000 but you owe 18,000, also known as being upside down in a loan, the insurance will only pay up to the market value of the car. So you're stuck with the remaining 3,000 dollars. GAP will pay the 3,000 if you have it. The reason for this is that whether a car's running or not, totaled or not, you signed that loan contract promising to repay it and unfortunately these contracts ARE legally binding (if they weren't dealerships would be out of business) so the loan does have to repaid one way or the other. It sucks, especially when you total a car or someone totals yours, and even though GAP may have kicked in, you will get zero money unless you somehow get other funds paid to you by the claim. Look on the bright side, you won't be stuck with a loan balance on a car you can no longer drive either. To keep your cars value up is simple. Don't crash it obviously, keep up on the maintenance, take care of the inside and outside by cleaning and washing it, if you happen to suffer a minor dent or scratch get it removed. Also, try to own a car that's commonly bought and usually retains good residual value. This means when you buy a car and by the time you finish with it, you can get a decent price for it when you finally sell it.