Crash - Insurance Unaware Of Engine Swap - Consequences
Discussion
hijimhere said:
Its a surprise to hear your friend was injured in the smash which was probably his fault. He could be done for all manner of driving related matters - the worst being causing death by dangerous driving.
Since it sounds like the most likely candidate for the "death" bit is the muppet who caused it...hijimhere said:
Insurers take a dim view of the stupidity (fun) of sticking a 3ltr engine in a vehicle suited to a 1.8 ltr.
It's a 3-series with a standard 3-series engine.hijimhere said:
I don't know of any normal insurer who would cover on the road a 3 ltr modification.
<shrug> That certainly doesn't mean they don't exist... I could come up with a shortlist of likely suspects without any difficulty.Sea Demon said:
SantaBarbara said:
What explanation does the friend of the OP give for why the accident happened?
Was it driver error or mechanical errors
He's in an induced coma at the moment so wont be able to answer anything for a while - just going on what I've been told by his mrsWas it driver error or mechanical errors
I hope the OP's friend makes a good recovery and is not crippled or has brain damage. I hope it was a only car involved incident. I hope the OP will get a chance so that he can learn from his errors.
Yes stupid to mod a car and not tell the insurers. Crash a car - fek most/a number of us have done that. Hope the guy comes out of this ok.
superlightr said:
I havnt seen the OP say anything about dangerous driving or that his friend ... damaged anything ... else.
The legal definition of "dangerous driving" is...The law said:
A person drives dangerously when: the way they drive falls far below the minimum acceptable standard expected of a competent and careful driver; and. it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous.
Given that he wrapped his car around the scenery (which is very unlikely to have been undamaged) well enough to do himself serious injury (probably requiring cutting him out) in a single-vehicle incident, I think it's fairly safe to say that threshold got well and truly met.gareth_r said:
Toyota used the same front brakes on every rear wheel drive car they made in the '90s.
Altezza/IS200/IS300
GS300/Aristo (including the twin turbo)
Soarer TT/active suspension V8 (smaller brakes on the other V8s)
LS400
Supra/Supra TT
That's quite a range of weight and power.
No they didn't.Altezza/IS200/IS300
GS300/Aristo (including the twin turbo)
Soarer TT/active suspension V8 (smaller brakes on the other V8s)
LS400
Supra/Supra TT
That's quite a range of weight and power.
Edited by gareth_r on Friday 8th September 12:12
Back to the original question: I wrote off my car with undeclared modifications, albeit nothing as substantial as an engine swap, and luckily got away with it.
If your friend is lucky he'll get a lax inspector as I did, although it sounds like insurance hassles are the least of his worries currently.
TooMany2cvs said:
superlightr said:
I havnt seen the OP say anything about dangerous driving or that his friend ... damaged anything ... else.
The legal definition of "dangerous driving" is...The law said:
A person drives dangerously when: the way they drive falls far below the minimum acceptable standard expected of a competent and careful driver; and. it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous.
Given that he wrapped his car around the scenery (which is very unlikely to have been undamaged) well enough to do himself serious injury (probably requiring cutting him out) in a single-vehicle incident, I think it's fairly safe to say that threshold got well and truly met.superlightr said:
you can still crash and it not be dangerous driving charge. OP hasn't said dangerous driving. Just its a crash.
I once (many years ago) had a 5 year old second hand car written off by another driver rear ending me so hard it bent the chassis. The other drivers insurance company took into account that it had a replacement engine under the 3 year warranty when haggling over the payout with my insurance company that I never even knew about....bonus for me was I got more than expected. Someone must have checked engine number records with the DVLA along the way.Bit Silly to say Least not to inform the insurance company and DVLA about the engine change, I informed my insurance company that I had changed from 3500 cc to 4600 cc and a few other (Lots) mods (including Brakes) premium increase yes about £ 25. The biggest hassle were DVLA who wanted proof of work done.
Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
KelWedge said:
Bit Silly to say Least not to inform the insurance company and DVLA about the engine change, I informed my insurance company that I had changed from 3500 cc to 4600 cc and a few other (Lots) mods (including Brakes) premium increase yes about £ 25. The biggest hassle were DVLA who wanted proof of work done.
Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
Theres an order of magnitude of difference there though. Your's is within a range, his was mundane to fairly high performance. I gather the premium increase just from 325 to 330 on the bim is very significant, I expect legit insurance on the 3.0 was simply not affordable - and for good reason - there's a lot of people arguing specifics about brakes and stuff here but a 330 can coax you into using power and driving in a way a 318 simply doesn't, which is why more get crashed and they cost more to insure. I'd be surprised if the insurance weren't on this - I'm guessing the car probably had highly visual mods too like wheels etc which would prod them to look further.Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
hairyben said:
KelWedge said:
Bit Silly to say Least not to inform the insurance company and DVLA about the engine change, I informed my insurance company that I had changed from 3500 cc to 4600 cc and a few other (Lots) mods (including Brakes) premium increase yes about £ 25. The biggest hassle were DVLA who wanted proof of work done.
Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
Theres an order of magnitude of difference there though. Your's is within a range, his was mundane to fairly high performance. I gather the premium increase just from 325 to 330 on the bim is very significant, I expect legit insurance on the 3.0 was simply not affordable - and for good reason - there's a lot of people arguing specifics about brakes and stuff here but a 330 can coax you into using power and driving in a way a 318 simply doesn't, which is why more get crashed and they cost more to insure. I'd be surprised if the insurance weren't on this - I'm guessing the car probably had highly visual mods too like wheels etc which would prod them to look further.Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
Cue the hate, but if the guys in a coma it'd have to be a pretty big shunt. I'd imagine the car is a complete wreck, the police will have impounded it to investigate if there was any mechanical failure on the vehicle ie brakes or if the driver is at fault. If the cars that kuch of a wreck is the bonnet even going to be opened? Another if and a big if, the investigator doesn't have knowledge about e46's is he really going to know the different engines they came with or is he just going to do his job and inspect the car for any mechanical failures that'd result in the car crashing. I'll go against the grain here and say he could be a very lucky boy and them not pay attention to the engine swap, whatever the putcone though he'll have learnt a lesson when he wakes from the coma
BMWBen said:
hairyben said:
KelWedge said:
Bit Silly to say Least not to inform the insurance company and DVLA about the engine change, I informed my insurance company that I had changed from 3500 cc to 4600 cc and a few other (Lots) mods (including Brakes) premium increase yes about £ 25. The biggest hassle were DVLA who wanted proof of work done.
Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
Theres an order of magnitude of difference there though. Your's is within a range, his was mundane to fairly high performance. I gather the premium increase just from 325 to 330 on the bim is very significant, I expect legit insurance on the 3.0 was simply not affordable - and for good reason - there's a lot of people arguing specifics about brakes and stuff here but a 330 can coax you into using power and driving in a way a 318 simply doesn't, which is why more get crashed and they cost more to insure. I'd be surprised if the insurance weren't on this - I'm guessing the car probably had highly visual mods too like wheels etc which would prod them to look further.Yes me thinks if they spot it which they might not, he will have a problem.
Kewy said:
This thread =
Always surprises me the amount of blood thirsty posters waiting for the worst to happen. I'm sure you guys have never put a foot wrong or made a bad decision in your life…
Hope said friend makes a full recovery.
That is fair and decent comment. The chap made a very stupid mistake (we all have at some point), but that does not mean we should not wish him a full recovery. He will pay the price for the stupidity in other ways for sure, and lesson learned.Always surprises me the amount of blood thirsty posters waiting for the worst to happen. I'm sure you guys have never put a foot wrong or made a bad decision in your life…
Hope said friend makes a full recovery.
I`m also going to stick my head above the parapet and say the engine swap wont be (unlikely to be) noticed.
Had a corrado written off a few years ago, assessor was there all of 2 minutes to look at the damage and the general condition of the car and then went. Bonnet stayed firmly shut the whole time.
Had a corrado written off a few years ago, assessor was there all of 2 minutes to look at the damage and the general condition of the car and then went. Bonnet stayed firmly shut the whole time.
Who_Goes_Blue said:
I`m also going to stick my head above the parapet and say the engine swap wont be (unlikely to be) noticed.
Had a corrado written off a few years ago, assessor was there all of 2 minutes to look at the damage and the general condition of the car and then went. Bonnet stayed firmly shut the whole time.
If the Police asses it then the "assessor" will be a very different beast....Had a corrado written off a few years ago, assessor was there all of 2 minutes to look at the damage and the general condition of the car and then went. Bonnet stayed firmly shut the whole time.
Kewy said:
This thread =
I'm sure you guys have never put a foot wrong or made a bad decision in your life…
Plenty, but when does that argument become invalid. I mean, you could say that about Ian Huntley.."yeah, so he killed those 2 girls, but have you never made a mistake?"I'm sure you guys have never put a foot wrong or made a bad decision in your life…
There are degrees of mistake. Just because I once bought brown bread when the wife asked me to get white, does not mean I cannot criticise Pol Pot.
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