How does modified/custom car insurance work and how is it calculated?

shauncr91 · 8 Sep 2014 at 20:30

NathWraith said:
Not really, roll cage is only safer if all the occupants are wearing helmets.

A half cage then

Rybo89 · 8 Sep 2014 at 20:34

Liquidfox · 8 Sep 2014 at 20:45

Acme said:
That seems strange. I can insure a Focus ST through Admiral right now, at 19 if I want to.

The quote is a little high, but its there at least.

It's to keep their premiums down, younger drivers are obviously a lot more likely to hop in the ST and go smash it up two weeks later, there's a growing amount of it on Facebook at the minute. Thankfully this way, they keep premiums down for the rest of us

Jumper118 · 8 Sep 2014 at 20:52

shauncr91 said:
By that logic adding a roll cage and bucket seats should be cheaper too but it isn't for the exact same reason and we all know why.

Edit: And nobody has a tuned car in the UK? u wot m8?

compared with america there are barely any. i know one person with a 1.6 diesel focus thats been remapped and thats it.

toasteh · 9 Sep 2014 at 12:23

you're looking in the wrong places then

Clarkey · 9 Sep 2014 at 13:11

toasteh said:
you're looking in the wrong places then

Yep, UK is a hot bed for modified cars because there's pretty much no regulation here.

Akagi · 17 Sep 2014 at 14:42

Just found a car I rather like which is a fraction of the price of similar cars to insure, so with that in mind, this becomes less likely.

For some reason a 2008 Audi A3 2.0T FSI Quattro S-Line Sportback manual (what a mouth-full) costs just slightly more than a 2006 VW Polo 1.6 to cover. :confused:

A similar sort of car like a BMW 120i M-Sport costs over twice as much to cover. Very confused but not complaining.

ubersonic · 17 Sep 2014 at 14:59

Acme said:
When I say heavily modified I mean:

- Non standard engine, possibly not from the same OEM
- Non standard gearbox, clutch, drivetrain, etc, possibly not from the same OEM
- Non standard suspension/ARB/links/etc
- Non standard brakes (incl rear disk conversion)
- Non standard wheels/tyre spec
- Non standard colour
- Non standard interior

This constitutes enough to get the vehicle reclassified as a kit car, and insured as such (cheap).

Janesy B · 17 Sep 2014 at 15:25

ubersonic said:
This constitutes enough to get the vehicle reclassified as a kit car, and insured as such (cheap).

Will you need type approval because the original chassis will be the same, both axles will be the same and if you keep the same steering that gives you 8 points which is enough to keep the cars original Registration so it wouldn't have to go through an IVA to get a Q plate?

ubersonic · 17 Sep 2014 at 16:07

Janesy B said:
Will you need type approval because the original chassis will be the same, both axles will be the same and if you keep the same steering that gives you 8 points which is enough to keep the cars original Registration so it wouldn't have to go through an IVA to get a Q plate?

I honestly don't know, all I know is that a friend changed the engine and gearbox in his Volvo to different (non-standard) ones and was able to insure it as a kit car as it met the criteria.

Akagi · 17 Sep 2014 at 16:16

ubersonic said:
I honestly don't know, all I know is that a friend changed the engine and gearbox in his Volvo to different (non-standard) ones and was able to insure it as a kit car as it met the criteria.

The official criteria for retaining the original registration was posted previously in the thread and it looks like a-lot more would have to be changed before you can no longer have the car registered in the same way.

Are the criteria for kit-car classification different to the criteria for what can no longer be considered a standard model? I sort of assumed that they would coincide.

Janesy B · 17 Sep 2014 at 16:36

Using all the running gear from a car in a new chassis/body would make it a kit car. I can't see how it can be a kit car if you maintain the original chassis.

Clarkey · 17 Sep 2014 at 17:13

I can't possibly see how some bolt on upgrades combined with an engine swap could be considered a kit car.

Akagi · 17 Sep 2014 at 17:22

Clarkey said:
I can't possibly see how some bolt on upgrades combined with an engine swap could be considered a kit car.

I can't possibly see why I thought this was a good idea to be perfectly honest...

I just had the car with sports suspension and wider wheels in the past and it was a blast, even if it took 20 years to get up to speed. Ever since then I have been wondering what it would be like if I did it properly, and did everything else as well... It would certainly be different. I doubt there are many if any V5/V6 Polo 9N's in the UK, they all seem to be elsewhere in Europe.

Looking over the car with a fine toothcomb, the bodywork isn't in very good condition at all, so sentiments aside, it makes little sense to use this car as a base for such a project.

I AM still interested in hearing more though...