Additional insurances - rx450h query

[lockeyboy]

Hi all

as an existing, and still smiling ls400 owner, my wife has looked at a used rx450h at a local main dealer, and would be buying on pcp.

as part of the costings, they've priced up gen 3 coating, which from some brief research seems vastly over priced and possibly not the best product either, so we've ruled that out

there is also a gap insurance, and Smart Cover (minor body damage)

does anyone have experience of taking up these products (£499 each) or advice to taking alternatives?

I'm sceptical of insurance at the best of times, but am also pretty sure someone will damage it in one way or another.

 

many thanks

 

 

mark 

 

[rayaans]

Gap insurance and Smart repair cover is cheaper elsewhere. Id pass both those.

I didn't bother with either.

[C Mclean]

You can get a much much better paint coating done outside the Lexus network. I've had three cars done with Gyeon with excellent long lasting results for around £275 per car. I'd also recommend getting the glass coated with GTeqniq, 40mph in heavy rain and you can have the wipers on the lowest intermittent setting.

[GSLV6]

Check out ALA; they'll provide GAP insurance much cheaper.

Find an insurance company that has a low voluntary excess and protect your no claims.  That'll be better than paying the cost of a minor damage insurance which'll cost you the same as the compulsory excess anyway.

As for body cover and protection, don't bother with it.  Clean your car, polish it, and apply some sealant such as Carlack68, Sonax Premium or CQuartz-CQUK and save yourself a fortune.

[Gliderpilot]

2 hours ago, GSLV6 said:

Check out ALA; they'll provide GAP insurance much cheaper.

Find an insurance company that has a low voluntary excess and protect your no claims.  That'll be better than paying the cost of a minor damage insurance which'll cost you the same as the compulsory excess anyway.

As for body cover and protection, don't bother with it.  Clean your car, polish it, and apply some sealant such as Carlack68, Sonax Premium or CQuartz-CQUK and save yourself a fortune.

Sealant wont stop stone chips or the odd supermarket trolley rash. I got Toyota's chip insurance on my wife's Yaris and I've had them out to two stone chips, a scratch on the passenger side door and a scuffed rear bumper all at no cost to me apart from the £10 call out fee. If the car is on a PCP then the final value can be affected by dings and scrapes etc. Something to keep in mind.

[GSLV6]

No, but the Silicone Dioxide based sealants offer good resistance and extra protection against chips, scratches and swirl marks, and it's this type of coating that Lexus are offering (in my case) for over £500, which is pretty excessive.  There are companies that do it professionally, but by the time their labour costs are covered, it's about £280 to have done, perhaps a little more.

Of course, none of these coatings will protect against a supermarket trolley bash or a large stone pinging off your bonnet at 70mph, but you wouldn't expect that.  Chip insurance is something different to sealant and standard paint protection insurance, which from Lexus does not cover stone chips.  I have the document quotations here open in front of me. That's on an additional stonechip and paintwork protection insurance, not the stand alone paint protection (paint sealant) policy which also covers interior leather protection (application of stain resistant coatings and leather conditioners).

Good point RE the PCP, and from that point of view, the extra chip and minor paint/body damage insurance is worth taking out.  There is a "but" though. If you have fully comprehensive insurance, check the excess. In my case, it's a protected no claims with an allowance for several claims within the policy period and a low compulsory excess.  If you have this type of fully comp insurance, you can claim for uninsured damage by others or your own accidental damage, and the cost of the repairs may be less in excess than than taking out the extra protection insurance plus won't affect your no claims.

[lockeyboy]

On 23/01/2017 at 10:54 AM, C Mclean said:

You can get a much much better paint coating done outside the Lexus network. I've had three cars done with Gyeon with excellent long lasting results for around £275 per car. I'd also recommend getting the glass coated with GTeqniq, 40mph in heavy rain and you can have the wipers on the lowest intermittent setting.

Hi chris

who did the gyeon applications for you? I don't have any indoor area to apply any "stuff", looking online, and including wheels and paint correction, the costs look to be around £800, for a full clean and ultimately seal

 

 

 

[C Mclean]

11 hours ago, lockeyboy said:

Hi chris

who did the gyeon applications for you? I don't have any indoor area to apply any "stuff", looking online, and including wheels and paint correction, the costs look to be around £800, for a full clean and ultimately seal

 

 

 

I had mine done way way up here in Edinburgh by Dominion detailing, a one man business who does very good work. For the paintwork and wheels, it came to about £250 inc a couple of small blemishes polished out. Dropped the car off in the morning and collected it the next afternoon. I coated the glass myself, pretty easy to do. You have to clean off the residue once the coating has dried. The residue cleaner quantity from GTeqniq is barely enough to finish the job, but you can finish it of with glass cleaner. I would scout around and see who comes up with the best deal.