DECATTING AND INSURANCE
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Discussion

zoomer

Original Poster:

35,829 posts

302 months

Wednesday 19th March 2003
quotequote all




Dear all

You are all SMASHING PEOPLE. PH'ers are the best of the best, so I don't want to preach BUT


As a lawyer of 10 years now, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be CAREFUL.



If you Decat your car, it will fail an MOT, therefore in the eyes of the law it is unroadworthy, therefore you will be UNINSURED. If the insurance company find out they will REFUSE TO PAY OUT. Don't give the w@nkers any excuse.

This means that if you are found liable and can't pay, you will LOSE YOUR HOUSE.


Sorry to rant but I can just see one of us getting it up the ar5e here, and a fmaily suffering just for some extra noise and a few bhp.

It's not worth it, guys and gals......


PLEASE THINK.

>>> Edited by zoomer on Wednesday 19th March 14:48

zoomer

Original Poster:

35,829 posts

302 months

Wednesday 19th March 2003
quotequote all


................................

wrx

30 posts

285 months

Wednesday 19th March 2003
quotequote all
You can get around this by fitting a decat pipe,then on M.O.T day just take off said pipe and fitt back your old system.Most small mot garages will do this for a small fee.Just remember if you have a crash,try to get your car back to a garage before the insurance guys come out to look at your car.

zoomer

Original Poster:

35,829 posts

302 months

Wednesday 19th March 2003
quotequote all


This happened to a client. unfortunately he was injured, the car got towed and by the time he could sort faffing about with the pipes the insurers had been and gone.

Claim refused.

£25k bill.

wrx

30 posts

285 months

Wednesday 19th March 2003
quotequote all
OUCH !!!

david010167

1,397 posts

294 months

Wednesday 19th March 2003
quotequote all
not good at all, I guess I will be keeping the CATs.

David

funkihamsta

1,261 posts

294 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
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Or have a pre92 car. No test - no fail.

P*Ting

5,618 posts

289 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
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Or take out modified insurance!

minimax

11,985 posts

287 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
quotequote all

P*Ting said: Or take out modified insurance!


best idea yet in IMveryHO

grey42cerbie

415 posts

297 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
quotequote all




If you Decat your car, it will fail an MOT, therefore in the eyes of the law it is unroadworthy, therefore you will be UNINSURED. If the insurance company find out they will REFUSE TO PAY OUT. Don't give the w@nkers any excuse.


How do you know it would fail? Surely if you have a valid MOT you have a valid MOT therefore you are legal. Cars can fail MOT's for any number of reasons, insurance companies would never pay out if they just had to say I don't think your car would pass its next MOT. After most accidents most cars couldn't pass an MOT.

Also, the CATS can be in-place but faulty or hollow they may have passed the last MOT but not the next. Surely they would have a job refusing any such claim.

Steve
Grey 4.2 Cerbie

Supercharged

102 posts

284 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
quotequote all
The fact is simply removing the Cat from your car doesn't result in instant MOT fail.

You can still pass the MOT without a cat as long as your car passes the relavent CO2 emission tests.

My car has been de-catted and yet the emissions still fall well within those allowed by the MOT test.

funkihamsta

1,261 posts

294 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
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This is not true. A car must have a CAT present if standard equipment on post aug91 cars otherwise its an automatic fail regardless of whether you could resuscitate athsmatics with your exhaust emissions..

Superflid

2,254 posts

296 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
quotequote all
Car goes in for mot.

Mechanic checks book to see if cat is standard.

Cat is standard.

Cat is missing.

Car fails mot.

That's how it works...........

Supercharged

102 posts

284 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
quotequote all
Well if you can find where is says that in the MOT testers manual I'd be interested to see it.

I maybe wrong, but I have scrutinised the MOT manual on several occasions and there's no mention of checking if the catalytic convertor is in place, or test failure due to lack of the cat. It simply sets out the emission test and the allowed levels of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and the lambda value for petrol cars produced after 1st August 1992.

DanH

12,287 posts

291 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
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This sounds like bollocks to me

Anyone got some hard evidence of people being denied insurance as opposed to friend of a friend stuff?

mikes

96 posts

287 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
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I don't know about the MOT, I thought it was emissions based, but could be wrong.

If you modify your car and don't tell the insurer you're in breach of contract - therefore not insured.

£25k will seem cheap if you hurt someone.

Don't do it, or tell them and sort out the MOT/type approval issues.

Mike.

DanH

12,287 posts

291 months

Sunday 23rd March 2003
quotequote all

Guess it depends on your policy. I ought to come under the 'modified exhaust' classification insurers use.

Or they also do the how many bhp more is it tack, which should cover it too.

funkihamsta

1,261 posts

294 months

Monday 24th March 2003
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www.topgear.co.uk/acatalog/faq.html

This article lists that a CAT must be present to pass the MOT.

Piglet

6,250 posts

286 months

Monday 24th March 2003
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DanH said:
Guess it depends on your policy. I ought to come under the 'modified exhaust' classification insurers use.



No, an insurance policy is a contract based on "good faith" which means that you HAVE to tell you insurers anything that may effect the policy at ANY time, not just at renewal or change of vehicle etc.

How your insurer choses to deal with it may change from insurer to insurer and may depend exactly what the modification to the car is. They may chose to grant cover, they may not. Any modification to the standard model (including stereo systems) should be disclosed to save problems in the future.

planetdave

9,922 posts

284 months

Monday 24th March 2003
quotequote all
If you accept that a cat must be present for MOT how do they know? They do a visual check and emissions so if you pass both you r OK. Or just refit your cat for the test. I can see insurance companies getting bolshie if you dont declare a decat 'cos of the performance boost but if your replacement pipe looks like a cat then who is going to know?