What is a stock car?

pepsilol

pepsilol

pepsilol

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Going from the 335i thread I think :

"A stock car, in the original sense of the term, described an automobile that has not been modified from its original factory configuration."

To me this means that anything that happens in the factory is stock, once the car is made up with all the options and it leaves the factory, the car is considered stock.

If I get the car home and change the bumper to another one, the car is no longer a stock car.

Lucero thinks :

"No, an original factory car is, a 3 series, made available for sale, with no options. If you add options, it becomes, for want of a better term, an optional factory configuration, which is not stock. "

So basically the very base car is stock, once options are added like nav in the factory, the car is no longer stock. So even when the car leaves the factory it isn't considered stock to Lucero.

Your thoughts guys...
 
If I bought a BMW and paid thousands of pounds worth of extras I wouldn't like someone calling my car "stock", that's for sure.

IMO stock is the basic spec with no add-ons.
 
In my mind, I'd think of stock as unmodified. Factory add-ons don't count and will be listed in the advert.

2p
 
Thing is, to me stock just means original factory, regardless of what is added or taken off.

A car with no options is a base car to me.
 
Stock car to me means nothing more than: -

141_2.jpg


I'd say manufacturer spec/factory spec/unmodified - not "stock".
 
rossk26 said:
If I bought a BMW and paid thousands of pounds worth of extras I wouldn't like someone calling my car "stock", that's for sure.

IMO stock is the basic spec with no add-ons.
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This for me is the clincher. If I paid £30k for a BMW and added £7k of factory options, I'm never going to list the advert as "Stock BMW for sale", am I?
 
To be fair, I never really use the word "stock", I always refer to car spec as base. I might say "a base 335i" or "a base 320d", which means, no factory add-ons. Having said that, I might in converstation say "stock" and mean the same thing. The minute you alter a car, whether your own mods, or those from the factory, away from base spec, the car has been modified and is no longer stock
 
TBF, I usually say factory spec, I don't know why I said stock in the first place.

And if I do hear stock, I interpret it as original factory specification.
 
For me:

Base spec - Means just the car in minimum spec with no options at all.
Stock car - See pictures above.
Car in "stock" spec - Means that everything the car has was factory fitted at time of original purchase. To me, if you change anything to a different model then it's no longer stock. It is possible to have a top spec car with all the options and for it to be "stock".
 
bledd. said:
In my mind, I'd think of stock as unmodified. Factory add-ons don't count and will be listed in the advert.

2p
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This. 4p.

Pretty sure it's an American term because hotrodders have been referring to standard (unmodified) cars as 'stockers' since year dot.
 
pepsilol said:
Thing is, to me stock just means original factory, regardless of what is added or taken off.

A car with no options is a base car to me.
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This. Factory options are nothing to do with modificaitons from base spec, a stock car is unmodified from when it left the factory.

(Although i've done 2 OEM additons to my car using dealer supplied parts and still consider mine to be stock as it is the same as if they were factory fitted)
 
I have had this exact problem with insurance companies over what a unmodified car is. When I first got my car I was with Admiral and they classed any factory fit option over the base cars level as a modification so I had to pay extra for the Leather, Xenon lights, nav, bluetooth etc, etc. They then went on to say that although I have now declared them they arent covered under the insurance for replacement purposes.

So the next time I renewed I went with LV for a couple of years, the woman on the phone there said as long as it rolled out of the factory with the options it isn't modified. Anyway when my wife got her Altea she went with admiral and we declared the parking sensors. My insurance came up a few months later so I phoned Admiral about multicar and to see if their policy on factory options had changed. They said yes it has and now as long as its factory fit I'm covered and don't need to declare them. Roll around a few weeks ago and I phoned them up to add my wifes car to my policy and mention that her parking sensors don't need to be declared, to which the reply was every factory options has to be declared as a modification but now they will cover them in the event of an accident and replacements being required, he went off to check with a someone on this. He even looked at my old policy with the the options declared and said he would add them for the remainder for free but they would have to go through the phone calls to confirm that I asked if they needed declaring.
 
Dandle said:
I have had this exact problem with insurance companies over what a unmodified car is. When I first got my car I was with Admiral and they classed any factory fit option over the base cars level as a modification so I had to pay extra for the Leather, Xenon lights, nav, bluetooth etc, etc. They then went on to say that although I have now declared them they arent covered under the insurance for replacement purposes.

So the next time I renewed I went with LV for a couple of years, the woman on the phone there said as long as it rolled out of the factory with the options it isn't modified. Anyway when my wife got her Altea she went with admiral and we declared the parking sensors. My insurance came up a few months later so I phoned Admiral about multicar and to see if their policy on factory options had changed. They said yes it has and now as long as its factory fit I'm covered and don't need to declare them. Roll around a few weeks ago and I phoned them up to add my wifes car to my policy and mention that her parking sensors don't need to be declared, to which the reply was every factory options has to be declared as a modification but now they will cover them in the event of an accident and replacements being required, he went off to check with a someone on this. He even looked at my old policy with the the options declared and said he would add them for the remainder for free but they would have to go through the phone calls to confirm that I asked if they needed declaring.
Click to expand...

I can understand your frustration with the above.

But... I can also see this from the insurers point of view. A car that is "stock" or whatever we are calling it from the manufacturer will have less desirability for thieves over the same car, with added options such as upgraded alloys, leather interior, sat nav system etc...

Also it will cost the insurer more to repair a car with such options if they were to become damaged in an accident...
 
Yeah I can see that as well but how many people buy a car second hand and never know what was an option or not. How many people don't bother declaring and know what was option. Does anyone ever get caught out? I wouldn't think so. It a massive grey area though. I don't even know if the woman at LV that told me everything was covered was right.
 
Depends from which angle you look at it id assume?

From your insurance its a stock car if its unmodified from the factory. BUT if you bought it and added all the extras in the factory to you its top spec etc...
 
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