Insurance on US imported Camaro

[tyke350]

Well my 2012 camaro ZL1 has just arrived in the UK, the next step following IVA conversion is to get insurance sorted out. I so far have only phoned Adrian Flux and was surprised/disappointed as 'specialists' they only came back with one option, which seems pretty expensive.

Wondered if anyone out there with a new'ish US import can recommend any insurers?

thanks in advance!

[Viper]

a lot of my viper mates were using flux years ago but have now moved to
http://www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk/contact...

[LuS1fer]

Classicline if you're on a limited mileage but, as a classic policy, you neither accrue nor lose NCB.

[tortop45]

But its not a classic yet.

[LuS1fer]

You say...
They insure them nonetheless because it's a specialist car and I suppose it gets treated like a classic.

[croyde]

I tried Classic Line to insure my 14 year old Mercury Grand Marquis but as others have said, they were not interested as the car wasn't old enough.

In fact I had a nightmare trying to get insurance, which seemed a bit of a joke as the car is not worth a lot but I am in London and parked outside in a car park.

After calling many suggested insurers and others, the only one that would quote me was Adrian Flux. It wasn't cheap and it has to be a second car only, so I am forced to keep my 'main' car which I barely use as I like driving the Mercury.

So as well as 15mpg, owning a US import is costing me a small fortune but I'm still enjoying it.

[Camaro]

In the last 10 years or so the rules have changed somewhat.

With the popularity in the modern muscle cars such as the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger, what would've been a £100-200 policy to insure a 'classic' is now becoming more and more expensive.

I struggled to insure my 1991 Camaro as it was too 'modern'...

[dnaudus]

I have a US Import 2010 Camaro SS and I have mine insured by Admiral. I had the same thing with all of the "specialists". Obviously the ZL1 is more expensive and powerful but mine is £700 (I'm 34 with 5 years no claims and live in Cambridgeshire).

Give them a go.

Cheers,
Damian.

[k22wes]

Might be worth giving a-plan a call. I insured my lightning with them this year and they were £100 cheaper than flux the year before.

[k22wes]

Might be worth giving a-plan a call. I insured my lightning with them this year and they were £100 cheaper than flux the year before.

[Accelerated]

sorry to hijack but can I ask how you found the prep for IVA on the Camaro?my 2012 is arriving soon so any tips much appreciated !

[tyke350]

Thanks for all the replies regards insurance, ended up going through Classicline, cost just short of £500.

Accelerated, I'm using Lee Allen down in Southampton for my conversion/IVA work, came recommended through PH and while I haven't got the car back, all been positive so far.

Shouldn't be long before the ZL1 is on the UK roads, just need to find information on US car meet-ups!

Edited by tyke350 on Wednesday 19th November 07:33

[tyke350]

forgot to mention, Classicline came back at around half the Adrian Flux quote, so definitely worth calling around.

[Accelerated]

Thanks for the reply, would you mind if i asked the cost ? Also can it be done DIY ?

[Roo]

Accelerated said:

Thanks for the reply, would you mind if i asked the cost ? Also can it be done DIY ?

Lee Allen would've been one of my recommendations.

Unless you know what you're doing I wouldn't even consider doing a DIY IVA conversion.

[tyke350]

Accelerated, recommendation for Lee Allen came from Roo, but as you can see from my previous Thread, lots of other recommendations. I was happy for a professional to take care of the conversion, not the sort of thing I'd want to attempt.

<http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1431518&mid=72839>

[LuS1fer]

I did my own SVA conversion on a 2002 Corvette C5 Z06 which is nice traditional wiring. However, you could buy a rear light conversion for the orange indicator element.
I would never even contemplate the Mustang which is full of electronic CANBUS I neither understand nor have any desire to fry - not sure what the Camaro has.

[Accelerated]

I remember yours well, i used it as a basis to get mine through the sva way back when, is it much harder to do these newer cars ?

[croyde]

Whoever did the IVA on my Mercury way before I got it made a real mess of it. OK everything works but 1980s Ford Fiesta side repeaters that are just stuck on, wires on show everywhere connected by tape and the beautiful original rear light clusters removed along with the continuation of the chrome trim that runs along the back of the boot and replaced with Crown Victoria clusters just to get the orange indicators.

Saw a nice job on some Crown Vics down in Kent that had three tiny LEDs attached to the inner of the front wheel arches for the side repeaters. Almost invisible when not in use and no making holes in the side panels.

[LuS1fer]

Accelerated said:

I remember yours well, i used it as a basis to get mine through the sva way back when, is it much harder to do these newer cars ?

Yes. Most new cars use electronics that have to detect a draw before it will supply any power. So, on my Mustang, if I take out the rear working number plate bulb and replace it, it no longer works and I have to turn the light switch off and on again before it relights my fire.

When the 2005 Mustang was imported, there was a slew of old school conversions and consequently, the SJBs all fried leading to brake lights being stuck on, indicators being stuck on, cruise control not working and a new SJB being required that was about £500 to £1000 IIRC.

Nowadays, they tend to use orange LED strips with resistors but you still have to be careful where the feed is taken as it can overload the system. It's evil magic.

I think the Corvette was blessed with a plug and play Euro light set and the Camaro may well have something similar as they sell it in Europe.
That being the case, the rear fog light and side (LED) repeaters shouldn't be that hard nor the white sidelights but there remains the risk of it going wrong.