Getting the urge

[Bobbynog 9]

Hi,

 

I've never been much of a modder - except out of necessity

 

But I have been getting the urge to tinker with Daphne my '86

 

But I've got 2 basic questions -

 

1. how far can you go before putting any warranties at risk?

 

2. at what point do you need to start declaring mods on insurance?

 

For example - would a basic mod like changing the air intake hose have any effect on either manufacturers warranty or any insurance implications?

 

Cheers

[Keethos 842]

1. It shouldn't but this will heavily be determined by your dealer, some dealers will claim you have voided your warranty completely because they either believe that (even though it's incorrect) or they just don't want the hassle/risk that they can't claim the work through Toyota. The actual fact is that if you change anything on your car, you lose the warranty on that part only, the rest of the car is still covered unless something happens due to this new aftermarket part. For example if you replaced your suspension and you then have problems with your engine, you'll still be covered as changing the suspension would have nothing to do with the engine failure, but if you had slapped a turbo on there and started to have engine problems, you might struggle to get that covered.

2. With regards to insurance, I would personally declare everything, each insurance company work slightly differently so some might need to know the simplest of changes like stickers while some don't. So rather than risking voiding your policy, I'd declare everything. One of the guys on here had a small crash and had to claim it through the insurance company, now when they assessed the car, they almost voided the whole insurance policy because they thought he had a turbo fitted when in fact it was just some aftermarket hoses (retarded I know), so if you ever do claim, make sure you've declared everything or else they could easily void your insurance. Also something worth noting, some insurance companies don't like mods or only allow a small number of mods.

[rob275 1817]

Warranty wise, go on the basis that the part you replace will lose its warranty. It goes without saying really!

 

With regards to insurance, as Keith says, declare everything. Most small things they won't charge more for, for example my wheels, exhaust and kit haven't cost me any more with Sky, but my Supercharger did.It hugely depends on the unsurer you are with. When it's up for renewal, consider the mod friendly insurers

 

- Adrian Flux

- Prestige

- Sky

 

Other insurers are available

[Kodename47 446]

Good idea: ring your insurers and ask them about what you intend to do and what the impact is (cover/cost etc). The last thing you want is to do something and then find out they wont cover you

[Keethos 842]

Another good tip is to declare things that you might eventually get done so you don't add them later and get charge Admin fees each time you add a mod.

[Bobbynog 9]

Thanks guys,

 

That's really useful and means I'm going to think very carefully before unleashing the spanners

[DanJ 374]

I've just got a revised quote from Aviva on my current policy to see how much extra for wheels and tyres, suspension and brake mods. Extra charge is ~£50, nearly £30 of which was admin fee, so not too bad at all.

[Bobbynog 9]

So,

One of the things I've been seriously thinking about is getting a centre console armrest -

I wouldn't of thought this would have troubled any warranty -

but would it class as a mod? and have to be declared as it wasn't factory fitted? even if I got a dealer to supply and fit?

[Jamie_GRMN 177]

The centre armrest definitely wouldn't void any warranty if it was dealer fitted and I can't see it being an issue with insurance. Saying that the first lot that insured me (Admiral) asked whether I'd had the dealer fit upgrade seats...

 

Warranty wise I have changed the suspension (BC coilovers) and exhaust (custom made single exit) plus a few other bits, not that it bothers me, I'd request an engineers opinion through TGB and they'd ring us (TMUK) to prove what was wrong...

[Ztox 230]

Another good tip is to declare things that you might eventually get done so you don't add them later and get charge Admin fees each time you add a mod.

 

Is this okay? I always had the assumption that if you did this then that's just as bad as not declaring things you have. Your insurance is incorrect at the end of the day, isn't it?

 

I've just got a revised quote from Aviva on my current policy to see how much extra for wheels and tyres, suspension and brake mods. Extra charge is ~£50, nearly £30 of which was admin fee, so not too bad at all.

 

I was about to say that I never got charged an admin fee from Aviva before lol, maybe that's because my last call didn't change the price of my premium though. I shall be calling them tomorrow regarding some bits I wish to add, nervous... 

[Bobbynog 9]

Just a thought, (from one who knows nothing),

 

If I do some minor mods to a car and clear them through my insurer - what happens down the line should I ever want to sell the car without putting it back to stock first?

 

And what happens if I were ever to buy a modded car and through ignorance not declare all the mods to my insurer? - in that case could I be driving something where the insurance was effectively meaningless?

[Lauren 2259]

Nothing happens if you sell the car with the mods on it. You just sell it, that's it. Not sure what you mean by this? 

 

If you buy a modified car and don't declare mods because you don't know about them, then that is your problem and you will not be insured. But that is entirely your fault and you should know what you're buying! Ignorance is never an excuse after all. 

[Kodename47 446]

Is this okay? I always had the assumption that if you did this then that's just as bad as not declaring things you have. Your insurance is incorrect at the end of the day, isn't it?

It's fine. I guess insurers see mods as additional risk, therefore if you declare but don't have them on then you're actually over covering yourself. I have done it a few times that way and stated that this is the case, my alloys virtually never go on the car but are declared in case I need to.

I've done it before where they have noted my intention to fit parts and then I just called them up to confirm when done, avoiding any admin fees.

Best advice, talk to your insurers and ask how they prefer to do it and how their cover works.

[Ztox 230]

Thanks for the info Steve *thumbs up*

[Lauren 2259]

I've had a remap on my insurance when I took out the policy in January, but I still haven't done the remap on the car yet. So as Steve says, it's okay if you've not done the mods, but really I did this with my insurance as it didn't add anything and I didn't want the admin fees should I remap it later in the year. 

[Willtl 54]

Is that just a remap you have planned? If so, what kind of performance improvement could be expected?

[Deacon 1357]

Is that just a remap you have planned? If so, what kind of performance improvement could be expected?

You can usually expect a peak increase of around 10 bhp and similar torque from an ecutek map.

[Willtl 54]

Thanks. Do people who have had this done feel a noticeable improvement or is it more of an "on paper" improvement? Any impact on fuel consumption?

[Lauren 2259]

I don't expect a huge difference, which is probably why I haven't shelled out £500 for it. You can raise the rev limit a bit. There are options like flat foot shifting, auto blipping (for those who can't heel and toe) and launch control, though I'm not interested in those. 

 

I've already got an induction kit, decat and exhaust etc. 

[Keethos 842]

You will notice a difference, how much I'm not 100% sure if you went just remap as I had the remap after the exhaust and stuff so it was probably a bit more substantial, but you'll find that the car will be a lot more eager, the torque dip will be massively narrowed so it's a lot less noticable and you'll probably gain a bit more mpg since your car will be tuned and optimised for the UK roads/fuel that they will work more efficiently thus gaining more miles to the galon.

[Gringosteve 213]

How much is a remap on a rolling road typically?

_____________________________________

www.im-tuned.uk

[Lauren 2259]

Fensport do their's on the road. Cost is roughly £500. 

[Gringosteve 213]

Thanks Lauren

[Foulsmell 120]

Personally I would wait. Decide what you want to do with the car, save up, then do it all at once. You'll save money not having to adjust the map. I wouldn't add any parts without mapping it. But that's just me.

[Kodename47 446]

How much is a remap on a rolling road typically?

Abbey do theirs on a hub dyno, it's also about the same cost IIRC. The main cost for a 1st time ECUtek tune is the license for the ECU. Obviously you could buy an OFT where there is off the shelf tunes for various configs.