How can anyone afford to modify their car?!

[Ian]

I'm insured with Tesco and have rang them up twice now, once about suspension springs and once about alloy wheels and to be honest they're taking me for a ride.

They want £240 if I put the Eibach suspension on and
£241.50 + £100 extra on my excess if I put a set of standard Renault 172 alloys on!

So instead of costing me £310 to buy them it's gonna set me back £790 :dead:

The only thing they'll let me get away with is colour coding the bump strips. Daren't ask them how much they want for a Dynamique spoiler, clear repeaters and ph2 rear lights!

Would it be cheaper for me to cancel and go with Flux or Bell or someone? I only have named driver no-claims with Tesco which I can't use with anyone else. I hate insurance.

 

[Jay_clio]

crist, cancell it fella,

you wont have to say about Alloys as their Renault 1's not Aftermarket so that will knock the price down for you

 

[Ady182]

Greenlight!

 

[VeinAST]

Tesco are like the government with insurance, they take all your money anyway and still want more..

 

[Gumby]

you wont have to say about Alloys as their Renault 1's not Aftermarket so that will knock the price down for you

^^

Explain that they are genuine Renault Alloy wheels. Most insurance companies then class them as an "optional extra" meaning you shouldn't have to pay a higher premium

 

[Ian]

I tried telling her that, even gave her an example:

"I don't understand, I'm basically replacing like for like. With it being a second hand car, if it had come with the Renault 172 alloys on I wouldn't know what was meant to be on the car so how would I know to declare them?"

Obviously I would know the difference, but not everyone would. the women replied,

"Well if you had an accident we'd send out one of our assessers and they would know and your insurance wouldn't be valid."

She went on to say that even optional extras have to be declared. Plus now I've told them lol. Dunno what to do.

 

[Ian]

Greenlight!

Unfortunately I'm not 21 til next May

 

[Jay_clio]

use www.gocompare.com use that to find a cheaper insurance quote, just dont say about the wheels,

 

[Gumby]

Yeah optional extras do have to be declared, but they don't affect your premium. Just refer to them as Renault alloy wheels, but not the standard ones on your model.

Phone back and speak to someone else, try to explain that you don't think the other bint quite understodd what you were getting at

 

[Darren S]

I'm insured with Tesco and have rang them up twice now, once about suspension springs and once about alloy wheels and to be honest they're taking me for a ride.

They want £240 if I put the Eibach suspension on and
£241.50 + £100 extra on my excess if I put a set of standard Renault 172 alloys on!

So instead of costing me £310 to buy them it's gonna set me back £790 :dead:

The only thing they'll let me get away with is colour coding the bump strips. Daren't ask them how much they want for a Dynamique spoiler, clear repeaters and ph2 rear lights!

Would it be cheaper for me to cancel and go with Flux or Bell or someone? I only have named driver no-claims with Tesco which I can't use with anyone else. I hate insurance.

Lol! The inner workings of the Mormons or the Cosa Nostra are more logical, straight-forward and predictable than insurance companies. I think they do that on purpose though. If it was easy for Joe Public to calculate on factors A, B and C, then anyone could work it out. Surely?

Their 'theory' of the Eibachs and the like will be that you're far more likely to push the car to its limits in order to stress the new suspension - or you're into 'racing' other cars. My counter-argument to that would be your making the car safer by improving its handling. But they won't accept that.

My insurance thankfully applied some logic when I mentioned that my OEM brakes were shot and that I was replacing them with EBC discs and EBC RedStuff pads. Surely no insurer could hammer you on the premium for making your car better at stopping? And if they did, I'd just walk away.

Twin-turbo upgrades, supercharging, etc - I can see their point. Even nice alloys and bodykits to some extent as your making your car stand out for the scallies to take note of. Even if its not to steal - simply to run a key down the side or put a windows through or something.

But at times you have to put your foot down. I was given 7 days notice to remove the PiperX on my PGGT or else my insurance would be made void. On shear goddamn stubborn principal, I told them to stick it and switched to Flux, who didn't mind at all.

D.

 

[Ronnie R]

When u declare mods with companies liek bell admril... its like £100 per mod...

 

[Sib]

Admiral are around £50 for 3 mods.

Age is the issue

 

[-Leigh-]

My insurance thankfully applied some logic when I mentioned that my OEM brakes were shot and that I was replacing them with EBC discs and EBC RedStuff pads. Surely no insurer could hammer you on the premium for making your car better at stopping? And if they did, I'd just walk away.

I have had Brembo discs and Redstuff pads fitted recently, and it never even occured to me that I need to tell the insurance company?!

Should I? What if they won't let me lol.

 

[Ian]

Phone back and speak to someone else, try to explain that you don't think the other bint quite understodd what you were getting at

Lol!

Well If I can get them to accept the alloys as optional extras for no extra charge or at least reduced charge then I'll go for a year or two without dropping it and then hopefully once I hit 21 and with a few years NCB things will be hella cheap anyway so I can spend a bit extra, or swap insurers.

Oh and I tried that trick with the suspension, said the standard issue springs were shot after 9 years and I'd been told they needed replacing, but all the women must've heard is "hi, I'm a boy racer and I want to put some shiny new springs on so I think I can drive faster and then put it on it's roof in a ditch when I get bored" (so, so far from the truth).

Any idea what they'll try and hit me with for swapping the spoiler, rear lights and repeaters (again all standard issue Renault, just not standard on my car)? I don't want to ask them cos they keep telling me that they take note of what I've asked and keep it with my policy, so they'd be more likely to check. Oh and how much are they likely to charge in cancellation fees if I went down that route?

 

[Darren S]

When u declare mods with companies liek bell admril... its like £100 per mod...

Admiral are around £50 for 3 mods.

Age is the issue

^^^^ - both examples of pure insurance b****cks...

"I've changed my filter"

"That will be an extra £100 on your policy, sir."

"I've changed my exhaust too"

"That will be a further extra £100 on your policy, sir."

"Oh, and this afternoon, I finished boring the block out to 2.2litres, equipped it with a turbo from a truck and slapped a bit of water-injection in there while I was at it."

"That will be another £100 on your policy, sir."

Weapons. :dapprove:

My insurance thankfully applied some logic when I mentioned that my OEM brakes were shot and that I was replacing them with EBC discs and EBC RedStuff pads. Surely no insurer could hammer you on the premium for making your car better at stopping? And if they did, I'd just walk away.

I have had Brembo discs and Redstuff pads fitted recently, and it never even occured to me that I need to tell the insurance company?!

Should I? What if they won't let me lol.

I'd tell them, just so the slippery-coated little feckers won't shirk their responsibilities should someone hit your car. "You didn't tell us about the pads - therefore we ain't paying you jack." If they do even attempt to stick so much as a 5p increase on your policy - tell them to shove it. There are plenty other money-grabbing sharks out there who won't bother with different pads.

As you can see - I just love insurance companies....

D.

 

[Slammed172]

Tesco are like the government with insurance, they take all your money anyway and still want more..

LOL, quote of the day.

 

[Sarah]

i rung up to check that i didnt have to let my insurance know about my alloys being a different colours....tbh i think i confused them that much but they said if its the standard alloys then it wont up ur premium.

so i have made a note of who and when i spoke to them as i cudnt believe i didnt have to pay any extra

 

[Ian]

i rung up to check that i didnt have to let my insurance know about my alloys being a different colours....tbh i think i confused them that much but they said if its the standard alloys then it wont up ur premium.

so i have made a note of who and when i spoke to them as i cudnt believe i didnt have to pay any extra

Wish I could find someone like that! At this rate I'm going to have all the bits for my car but not be allowed to fit them!

 

[Jaff]

just say they are oem parts of a slightly newer model.

 

[Ian]

just say they are oem parts of a slightly newer model.

That seems to be the general consensus so I'll give it a go in a bit, cheers.

 

[clio_luke]

Greenlight!

+1

 

[Ian]

Greenlight!

Greenlight!

Unfortunately I'm not 21 til next May

Greenlight!

+1

Maybe next year!

 

[Pettsi]

I'm with tesco's and i didn't pay any extra for 172 wheels!

I only paid about £100 extra for coilovers too!

 

[young_lew]

I'm insured with Tesco and have rang them up twice now, once about suspension springs and once about alloy wheels and to be honest they're taking me for a ride.

They want £240 if I put the Eibach suspension on and
£241.50 + £100 extra on my excess if I put a set of standard Renault 172 alloys on!

So instead of costing me £310 to buy them it's gonna set me back £790 :dead:

The only thing they'll let me get away with is colour coding the bump strips. Daren't ask them how much they want for a Dynamique spoiler, clear repeaters and ph2 rear lights!

Would it be cheaper for me to cancel and go with Flux or Bell or someone? I only have named driver no-claims with Tesco which I can't use with anyone else. I hate insurance.

I've got Eibach springs on and i'm with Tesco and it didn't cost me a penny!, not even an admin charge!

although my springs are recommended by Ford and are Warranty approved......

 

[andrebailliesearle]

Im on traders policy £630 a year can have unlimited cars for sale aslong as let them know what i got and can have 7 of my own private cars with unlimited mods. That only on a part time traders policy as the works policy covers me for my full time job.

 

[2thumbs]

Age is the issue

I'm paying £270 with unlimited non-performance mods and I'm 21.

With Adrian Flux.

 

[Ian]

I'm with tesco's and i didn't pay any extra for 172 wheels!

I only paid about £100 extra for coilovers too!

How old are you Pettsi and what did you say to them when you told them?

Age is the issue

I'm paying £270 with unlimited non-performance mods and I'm 21.

With Adrian Flux.

£270 all in? What car do you have?! Even my mum doesn't pay that little and she's been driving for over 15 years.

 

[2thumbs]

Mk1 Clio 1.2. Lol!

 

[Ian]

Aha, so that's where I'm going wrong lol!

Well I'm picking up the wheels on Monday so hopefully will be able to sort something before then with Tesco, if not they'll have to sit in the garage for a bit.

 

[Pettsi]

How old are you Pettsi and what did you say to them when you told them?

I told them i had got Renault manufactured wheels from a different model on the car. They asked if they were fitted proffesionally... They happend to be fitted proffesionaly, as i got new tyres for them at the same time! - No charge.

I told Tesco's i had lowered my car on coilovers. They charged me 100squids! I wont be with tescos after this weekend as they wont insure me on my 182!

 

[pinky]

if you are over 21 give adrian flux a call..mega cheep for me.

 

[Sam16hutch]

You are Aware That Insurance Do not actually care what the car looks like, Subtly... e.g. the Mk2 ph2 Rear Lights, Spoiler...

The reason why they mega jack the price up is because if the car gets robbed, then its them having to pay that little extra out...

If the mods are fairly cheap anyway, its not worth all the extra hassle...

I recently just had a write off of my 1.2, had lots of mods, only 1 engine mod - IK, just removed this before hand and they weren't none the wiser...

Had Colour coded, Spoiler, Turini's, Stereo, Sub + Amp, Skirts and 172 Rear bumper...

Didnt mind at all about the mods, and got a cash settlement of more than i paid...

Although i did only pay Trade price... only ever do for a car...

Inc Mods costs and car, i still recieved £180 more than i paid...

As long as they dont alter the Engine Output or Performance of the car, its fine...

Even gave me the wheels back, as i had the original steel ones and they didn't mind...

Why would Painting something alter an insurance policy?!? Thats like Paying more to insure a black car than a gold one?!

If you think about it, Insurance dont even ask the colour of the car... so how would they know anyway?!?!

Speaking from Experience

Sam

 

[SC03OTT]

i wouldnt be declaring things like oem spoilers and wheels. at the end of the day, if you have an accident and someone comes to see the car, they will see the renault diamond on the wheels and think they were standard anyway...thats if they even look that hard.

 

[Sam16hutch]

If theres a Renault Diamond on the wheels, and fit correctly, 99% of them will of been able to of been ordered as a Factory Fitted Optional Extra when bought...

Thus they were like it when new, supplied by Renault...

Thus, Standard.

 

[mattjk]

You get raped enough anyway I'v never declared mods, then again its a stupid attitude but alot of people dont bother with insurance full stop so meeting half way seems reasonable.

 

[Ian]

Appreciate your input Sam and Scott, to be honest that's exactly what I was thinking, but people always say that insurance companies will use any excuse under the sun not to pay out, so don't give them any excuses!

I thought I was just doing the right thing telling them about the wheels, thought they would be like "oh right, whatever, that's fine.. no charge" but for some reason that's not the case. I can understand about the springs because they're not standard (still think they're asking for way too much though).

I'm not going to declare any of the lights or spolier, they're all subtle and standard Renault. I guess the only thing they can say about paint is that it improves the look of the car, making it look more expensive and therefore more liable to be stolen, but they've already told me no charge for that anyway.

I wish I hadn't mentioned the wheels now.. the ones on there probably cost the same as the 172s anyway so I really don't understand their issue with them

 

[glyn1980]

I'm with Tesco. When I got the dynamic wheels on my 2001 ph1 they said that as the wheels did not come as standard on the ph1 Alize then they were classed as non standard. It doesn't matter if you have 15" renault alloys or 20" Oz they are both non standard in their eyes. I have told them all my mods, tinted rear lights, angle eye head lights, lowered 60mm on springs and shocks, 172 rear bumper, rear spoiler and performance exhaust and I'm paying £430 which includes breakdown cover. I'm 27 though so it just must be age against you.

They will take a car with 6 mods, but no more I had to take off the lexus rear lights and they allowed the tinted standard lights to be classed as OEM and that meant that I could get the lowering done. There was no extra charge between the lights and lowering which I though was a bit strange!

 

[Darren S]

You get raped enough anyway I'v never declared mods, then again its a stupid attitude but alot of people dont bother with insurance full stop so meeting half way seems reasonable.

The main risk with that m8, is if someone else plough's into your car. You won't have the chance to take bits off before the Police and insurance assessors are on the scene and if your car doesn't match their records, they have every right to refuse payment.

So someone hits you - it was their fault - and you don't get a bean. A bit risky, imo - but I can see your point.

D.

 

[kie1an]

You get raped enough anyway I'v never declared mods, then again its a stupid attitude but alot of people dont bother with insurance full stop so meeting half way seems reasonable.

i like your thinking

 

[nozza89]

i havent declaired my ph2 rear lights or clear side repeaters, didnt think you had too