Remapping on PCP

[Scrutinize]

That seat thread is 10 years old.

But yes the point still stands, you don't own the car on finance and you could be liable for the full settlement and car value as an absolute worse case.

Notwithstanding, performance of hot hatches and fast salons has taken a massive jump forward since that era so it is a lot easier to buy performance at stock once only achieved by £££ of suspension, brake, turbo/ecu mods as standard. There is no excuse to buy a new car which doesn't meet your needs. Those 420i lease deals were crazy cheap recently but it wasn't much more to go for a quicker 30i model from the off. £50pm if I recall as I looked at it before I settled on my e.

Want a quicker car, buy one to start with.

 

[[TW]Fox]

what made you buy a 20i ?

He hasn't bought anything that's the point

 

[shauncr91]

That seat thread is 10 years old.

But yes the point still stands, you don't own the car on finance and you could be liable for the full settlement and car value as an absolute worse case.

Notwithstanding, performance of hot hatches and fast salons has taken a massive jump forward since that era so it is a lot easier to buy performance at stock once only achieved by £££ of suspension, brake, turbo/ecu mods as standard. There is no excuse to buy a new car which doesn't meet your needs. Those 420i lease deals were crazy cheap recently but it wasn't much more to go for a quicker 30i model from the off. £50pm if I recall as I looked at it before I settled on my e.

Want a quicker car, buy one to start with.

You're missing a big part of modifying a car to make it faster though, it's fun.

 

[Scrutinize]

You're missing a big part of modifying a car to make it faster though, it's fun.

No I get the enjoyment from modding comes from the process not just the performance but the point is that the op bought a 420i and would spend more modding and insuring pm than the 430i would have cost initially in extra pm which is a vastly superior engine.

If you want to buy a new car and mod it then finance/lease is not the way. Nor is it a great idea invalidating a warranty on cars which cost significant money to fix on major engine/drivetrain parts unless you can comfortably afford repairs.

Equally the cost of properly fast cars is not much more than the more mundane variants and sometimes cheaper. For example the M140i/M240i deals are cheaper than most due to residuals.

Maybe the op definitely wanted the 4 but the M240i or even 340i would not have been that much more if it was about performance.

 

[DereksDontRun]

You're missing a big part of modifying a car to make it faster though, it's fun.

sure. It's nice to make something individual and tinker with bits and bobs that you would appreciate for your driving requirements, on something you own... We all have hobbies and modding cars is fine (as long as it's legal).

The issue here is that a PCP car isn't yours until you pay off that final balloon payment, up until then it's owned by the bank/finance-company. To get the pcp a contract needs to be signed and that will likely have something worded like no modifications without prior approval/consent. Some companies will be more lenient to mods than others, but all will want to be asked/checked first, before someone rat-rods a car they don't own. A car company's internal pcp scheme is likely to be intending to set up stock for their approved used fleet if the balloon isn't paid - they're not going to be happy if components are changed, the cat or DPF (on a diesel) is removed and a remap is on the car, etc.

I kinda feel bad, because I would expect the OP probably expected/hoped for "oo, nice car. good one!" replies, instead of the more negative comments. but, hey, it's a forum, so what do you expect...

 

[Dangerous Dave]

No I get the enjoyment from modding comes from the process not just the performance but the point is that the op bought a 420i and would spend more modding and insuring pm than the 430i would have cost initially in extra pm which is a vastly superior engine.

Same 4 cylinder 2L turbo engine in both just a different engine map.

 

[Scrutinize]

I kinda feel bad, because I would expect the OP probably expected/hoped for "oo, nice car. good one!" replies, instead of the more negative comments. but, hey, it's a forum, so what do you expect...

Good point,

They are a nice car and pretty quick too

Same 4 cylinder 2L turbo engine in both just a different engine map.

It's not the 440 but it's still 256ps vs 187ps from the off which is a significant jump.

 

[[TW]Fox]

You're missing a big part of modifying a car to make it faster though, it's fun.

Oh yea sitting with a cup of tea whilst a guy with a laptop remaps your car is super thrilling.

 

[DAIR]

Just leave the car as is.... The the remap messes up the car. You'll have bigger issues than the monthly payments.

 

[Nasher]

They will be able to tell if they actually look for it. They will even know if you used those silly plug-in devices due to anomalies with fuelling in the logs.

If the engine blows up the manufacturer will ask for dump of the ECU data, find out it's been messed with and refuse the claim.

 

[robj20]

Even if you bought the car and remapped it you would still lose the warranty.

Only on parts you can't prove the remap can't possibly effect. Like warranty should still exist on the interior and body work, lights that sort of thing. But it is up to the owner to prove.

 

[Dav4]

How about remapping and insurance? Do most insurance companies check things like ecu logs etc? Browsing forums over the years the majority of people don’t think they need to declare these remaps and tuning boxes. I know I got laughed at when I planned on getting my ST remapped and declaring by most people who think it can just be taken off without a trace

 

[wedrum]

He hasn't bought anything that's the point

oh ok good

 

[Kenai]

oh ok good

What Fox means is that because it's on PCP he hasn't bought it, he's renting it. He's 'bought' the 20i in the picture.

 

[rodenal]

How about remapping and insurance? Do most insurance companies check things like ecu logs etc? Browsing forums over the years the majority of people don’t think they need to declare these remaps and tuning boxes. I know I got laughed at when I planned on getting my ST remapped and declaring by most people who think it can just be taken off without a trace

Vcds will show you a flash count for any modern vag car so assume insurance companies would have easy access to the right tools to check should they want to - I guess where the use of that to prove modifications have been done comes into question is how the insurance company would know the number of flashes that "should" be there as it seemed to be just a count with last date

 

[200sols]

Lots of hate in here for PCP it seems.

 

[DereksDontRun]

How about remapping and insurance? Do most insurance companies check things like ecu logs etc? Browsing forums over the years the majority of people don’t think they need to declare these remaps and tuning boxes. I know I got laughed at when I planned on getting my ST remapped and declaring by most people who think it can just be taken off without a trace

legally, it should be declared. a remap or piggy back certainly is a performance mod and thus the insurance company will want/need to know. In the small print of the insurance contract you will be signing to say that to the best of your knowledge the car isn't modified, unless it's declared. If they were to find a map on a nearly new car under warranty, then how can u claim u didn't know about it?!?

Realistically, whether they would find out - all depends on how bad the claim is and how much investigation is done. Say, u get into a 10mph fender-bender then probably not, but if there's fatalities then presumably a LOT more investigation is done and that's when you could find out your uninsured. Not to mention, a lot of people don't leave it at a map, but also change alloys, change stereo, add tints, intake, bonnet stripes or wrap, etc. all are mods in the eyes of insurance... Hell, I've previously seen that de-badging the car is a mod (one of the comparison sites used to have a v extensive list of mods that insurance companies are interested in, but I can't find it right now)... Basically, anything that isn't a factory option can be considered a mod. You might get more wiggle room at the time of an investigations if you can suggest a previous owner did it, but if you're the 1st registered keeper or have a job in the car-trade and thus should know what bits of the car stand out as being "different" then you'll have no defence.

I'm not saying I'm against modding - tbh, my present car is my 1st car that i've not done something with - and every time declared, even things like strut-braces...

It's a problem that's only going to get worse. pcp now lets higher powered and newer cars into the hands of younger people that arguably are more likely to mod (and not bother about declaring). I still see the odd post from owners clubs of my previous cars, and some lads are happy to drive about without numberplates, with flashing blue lights (to clear the road in front of them to speed easier) etc. and post vids of them getting to top speeds in their cars - about 170-180mph, on public roads. They admit to not declaring the wealth of performance mods they have and using "friendly" mot stations to avoid all the fails they would legally get (usually cat removal)... basically, if the police force are so underfunded to not notice/care about cars with no plates then surely they're not going to be stopping and checking insurance... all a shame.

 

[DereksDontRun]

Lots of hate in here for PCP it seems.

not at all - pcp is fine... it's more comments/frustration that some people with pcp cars forget that they don't own them until the end of the contract... If you borrowed a car off a mate, or rented one from Hertz for a week, would you mod it to suit you? nope, it's not yours. so, how's pcp any different? (unless you absolutely know you're going to buy it with the balloon payment at the end).

 

[muon]

The car doesn't belong to you so you can't modify it.

If you want to modify cars, then buy them.

I'm not 100% sure that is true. Even if the loan is secured against the vehicle you are still the owner?

Much in the same way a mortgage is secured against a house. However a mortgage company will set certain covenants so you don't deliberately destroy the value of the property.

A PCP is simply a loan structured in a way to reduce monthly payments. I'd be interested in seeing what covenants exist in a PCP contract.

 

[Semple]

Lots of hate in here for PCP it seems.

The only hate is against people who "rent" a car and wish to modify things on it as if it was their own.

Mr Funex had a nice humorous analogy...

Why would you spend hundreds of pounds modifying a car you’re basically renting?

It’s like paying to steam clean the carpets in a hotel room..