OEM alloys on insurance?

[tyranical]

Do you need to declare Alternative OEM parts to insurance?

For example, if you buy a Citroën saxo 1.4 with steel wheels and wheel trims and you put 1.6 Citroën standard vtr alloys on it, would you need to declare them?

[corradoG60]

Yes, you even need to declare them if they were ordered with the car from the factory

[LeeThr]

I was considering doing something similar with my 206, its currently on stealies. A friend of mine has a set of pug alloys lying about which he said i can have for pennies and they have decent tyres on them as well, another reason why im interested. If i keep the budget tyres the previous owner insisted on having on the car over the winter then it is going to result in one of three things or possibly all 3. I have to drive very slow because they have no grip in the wet, it almost slides in a straight line at times therefore be late for everything. I will have a very nasty accident due to the back end kicking out and the front wheels just spinning and not having the power to pull it forward and back in line resulting in meeting other road users, walls trees etc. Or same again with nasty accident but i end up not with us anymore.

They arent in the best nick, but mainly just minor surface scratches, no real evidence of ever being curbed etc. so plan was, get them, refurb kit, can of spray paint, throw them on, throw stealies in the garage, keep st tyres for track days/general pissing about. Me very happy now.

If i have to declare this to my insurance (bear in mind im a 17 year old male, passed test 2 months ago 2 months after my 17th) what can i expect this to do to my premium? Its currently TPF&T @ £1367.

Thanks

[turbolucy]

LeeThr, I'd say that as you've been driving for a matter of months, you shouldn't be driving in a way that might cause your back end to slide out simply because it's wet. Especially in something like a 206.

As for OEM alloys, all I can say is someone I knew had an accident in a 206 van which had factory fitted alloys (unusual for a van however). The insurance company tried rejecting the claim because the van had alloy wheels on, even though they were fitted from new. Ring your insurers and ask.

[ymwoods]

Some insurance companies want to know about any mods on a car but will only load the premium up for ones that "add BHP" to the car. Mine is one such but it is also known as the worst of the lot...Quinn Direct if anyone was in any doubt

SOME insurers also do this so its worth just phoning up and seeing, even so though it probably will not load your policy that much as they are just alloys at the end of the day.

I do however tend to agree with the above poster where if your worry is that the back end will slide out in the wet on a 206 then your obviously driving too fast and/or doing something very wrong.

I own a 206 and its very hard to get the back end out unless I am being very very silly due to its voodoo suspension.

[pits]

LeeThr said:

If i keep the budget tyres the previous owner insisted on having on the car . I will have a very nasty accident due to the back end kicking out and the front wheels just spinning and not having the power to pull it forward and back in line resulting in meeting other road users, walls trees etc. Or same again with nasty accident but i end up not with us anymore.

Thanks

You shouldn't be driving a manner that would cause the above to happen though? Correct car control will allow even the sttest tyres, to work in poor conditions, and as for being late for everything, leave earlier, simple really.

As for alloys, ring your insurance company tell them exactly what you want to do, and ask how much it will cost, if it is viable then put alloys on with decent tyres, bear in mind if you are going for directional V tread tyres like Toyo Proxies, they won't work in snow and ice, so you would need a spare set of decent tyres on the steelies for the winter, how ever if you can't afford to put the alloys on, then spend your money on a set of decent all season tyres and get rid of the ditch finders

[Denis O]

LeeThr said:

If i have to declare this to my insurance (bear in mind im a 17 year old male, passed test 2 months ago 2 months after my 17th) what can i expect this to do to my premium? Its currently TPF&T @ £1367.

Thanks

Who are you insured with as that premium is incredibly cheap if it's in your own name. My grandson is currently being quoted around £3k.

[AndyFoo]

Declare everything. With admiral I rang up because I was looking at a set of Ford alloys for my car, the guy told me that often if the car could have been spec'd with them the premium won't go up, but if they were off a higher spec'd car (st200 instead of an lx) there is more likely to be an increase.

I was looking for a 'summer' set of wheels as being stuck in the country I wanted a set of snow or winter tyres. In the end I opted for the cheaper option, snow chains.

[Twincharged]

For insurance purposes, I think that if the car came with your particular alloy wheels as standard then they're part of the original car (i.e. your car has the alloy wheels as per base spec for the model of car that you have). Ones that have been "added" (including factory upgrades from steel wheels or a lesser alloy wheel) either fall into the optional extra category or the aftermarket category.

In the case of different wheels from the same manufacturer that couldn't have been bought on that model of car, I'd say that they technically count as aftermarket, though it's worth discussing this with your insurer. Bear in mind they record calls for reference, so if you have been upfront and honest in the telephone call and their data entry person inputs it incorrectly then there would be some comeback should the worst happen.

[anonymous-user]

LeeThr said:

it almost slides in a straight line at times therefore be late for everything. I will have a very nasty accident due to the back end kicking out and the front wheels just spinning and not having the power to pull it forward and back in line resulting in meeting other road users, walls trees etc.

Sorry, but you need to adjust your driving style.

You should not be over and understeering how ever ste your tyres are.

[frosted]

You can get the back end out at 30mph in a 206 . I saw it done in front of me by an oap

[HellDiver]

"It was like that when I got it".

Simple.

[Deva Link]

LeeThr said:

therefore be late for everything.

Try leaving earlier?

LeeThr said:

...the front wheels just spinning and not having the power to pull it forward and back in line

Oh God. Here's a clue: powering out of oversteer doesn't work on the road in real life.

Make sure your best tyres are on the back of the car. Please.

[RB5]

As already mentioned, you do need to declare it.

LeeThr said:

If i have to declare this to my insurance (bear in mind im a 17 year old male, passed test 2 months ago 2 months after my 17th) what can i expect this to do to my premium? Its currently TPF&T @ £1367.

Thanks

That's quite cheap for your age, where do you live? I assume the policy is in your name? I paid £3,000 when I was 18, and £2,000 at 19. Not sure what the next renewal will be!

[bullitinhead]

"though it's worth discussing this with your insurer"




best quote here, you will not neccesarily have to declare it, but the best people to ask are *your* insurers. everyone else is working of best guess. Sometimes right sometimes not.

case in point swiftcover are only interested if the value is over £1000, then they need to be declared. along with other "modifications" however they will only pay out for original spec in the event of a claim, this is true with most policys. unless specificaly written in *your* policy

bullit

[ManaghGB]

When I tried a few insurance companies when I first passed, I tried Direct line and they asked if my car had alloy wheels. It came from the factory with them, not an option, standard spec. They said they would class them as a modification and wouldn't insure anyone under 25 with a "modified car".

But yeah, tell the insurance everything.

[Ferg]

I think there are two ways of finding out what you need to declare and PH isn't one of them.

1. Phone the insurance company and ask.
2. Guess. Then have an accident or theft.

A young lad who works for me was told by his insurers that he needed to declare any 'performance suggesting' badges on the car (e.g. 'turbo''16v') as they made it a more likely theft target.......

[LeeThr]

Denis O said:

LeeThr said:

If i have to declare this to my insurance (bear in mind im a 17 year old male, passed test 2 months ago 2 months after my 17th) what can i expect this to do to my premium? Its currently TPF&T @ £1367.

Thanks

Who are you insured with as that premium is incredibly cheap if it's in your own name. My grandson is currently being quoted around £3k.

Yes its in my own name, no extra divers or anything like that quite simmply just me insured on the car. Im currently with Flux Direct.

The back tyres i currently have are rediculously bad, the way the groves are cut in them and the depth of them theres just no room for any amount of water to get off them, so the only thing they do is sit on top of it. The reason why its so tail happy, its not all the time, its mainly on roundabouts that are extremly close to petrol stations so covered in diesel etc, but it still tried to kick out and 10mph.

[Deva Link]

LeeThr said:

The back tyres i currently have are rediculously bad,

The worst tyres should be on the front.

What size are they? If they're a "normal" size you could buy a new pair for not much money. N Wales Police won't be impressed to see you pirouetting on roundabouts.

[carmonk]

ManaghGB said:

When I tried a few insurance companies when I first passed, I tried Direct line and they asked if my car had alloy wheels. It came from the factory with them, not an option, standard spec. They said they would class them as a modification and wouldn't insure anyone under 25 with a "modified car".

Then they are are either idiots or just didn't want to insure you. Either a car is modified or it's not. In this case, if what you say is correct, it's not, and that's an end to it.