Insurance nightmare!

[john p]

Hi all,last week I bought a 2006 JCW,well atleast I thought I had,the dealer told me it is a factory built JCW,but when I try to get online quotes and put in the reg number it is coming up as a standard Cooper S,so it seems like it was fitted by a dealer within the first month.Has anybody else had these problems? It seems I now have the nightmare of modified insurance!I may as well of modified my last Cooper S as it was very good car with all the niggles sorted,and that's another story.

[oilpainting]

I had a similar experience when insuring our mini.
Searched for a competitive quote using a price comparision web site

[okgo]

Try these lot.

01252 725 725 A-Plan Farnham, they do a lot of our MINI's.

[john p]

My existing insurance company have changed it to a works manually on their computer,and the price is the same.At the end of the day does it make any difference whether it was done at the factory or by a dealer? It does seem a bit of a minefield though.

[Rakey]

john p said:

Hi all,last week I bought a 2006 JCW,well atleast I thought I had,the dealer told me it is a factory built JCW,but when I try to get online quotes and put in the reg number it is coming up as a standard Cooper S,so it seems like it was fitted by a dealer within the first month.Has anybody else had these problems? It seems I now have the nightmare of modified insurance!I may as well of modified my last Cooper S as it was very good car with all the niggles sorted,and that's another story.

It might not be that the car isn't a factory JCW car, a lot of insurance companies have problems classifying the JCW as either a factory option car or a conversion.

Best bet is to get the dealer to confirm this by getting them to print out the original factory spec sheet that they call up on the system for you.

[john p]

I'm still very confused over all this,the kit was fitted on the day the car was registered,another sales person has told me they were all built like this,and not at the factory.

[okgo]

john p said:

I'm still very confused over all this,the kit was fitted on the day the car was registered,another sales person has told me they were all built like this,and not at the factory.

Not sure if I am right here, but I think the only factory built ones are the new ones, all the rest are as above..

[john p]

It would save a lot of people a lot of bother if somebody could officially verify this,as insurance companies seem to do their best to avoid paying out,or ripping people off.Adrian Flux seem to be the best so far,but still looking.

[littlegearl]

basically the dealer has lied to you, there are no factory built JCW's before July 2008 (R56 shape), the rest were sold as JCW kits that were a dealer fit option.

is your car new shape or old shape? (new shape came out in about october 2006), it should have JCW written on the plastic on the top of the engine, if it hasn't, you've been doubly lied to and it is just a bodykit!

either way, your local dealer should be able to supply you with a JCW certificate to prove the work has been carried out proffessionally (they may charge a nominal fee for this) which should at least help you work out if it is genuine or not...

[okgo]

Obviously if you read the post, you would see its 2006, so yes old shape, and yes this will be an add-on. The only factory JCW cars are r56 08 onwards.

Edited by okgo on Saturday 28th February 10:26

[littlegearl]

okgo said:

The only factory JCW cars are r56 08 onwards.

but you can have JCW bolt-on kits for an R56, and wasn't the R56 launched in 2006? so it could be potentially a turbocharged engine...

[okgo]

littlegearl said:

okgo said:

The only factory JCW cars are r56 08 onwards.

but you can have JCW bolt-on kits for an R56, and wasn't the R56 launched in 2006? so it could be potentially a turbocharged engine...

True. I thought he would have put 56 if it was. But yes.

[john p]

Sorry for the confusion folks,it's an R53 supercharged car,I have the certificate,and it has all the right bits in the right places,my problem is when insuring via a price comparison website when you put in the reg number,it lists the car as a Cooper S,although they list a Works,my insurance company have manually changed this over,so my certificate states Cooper S Works,but I've read somewhere that an insurance company refused to pay out on somebody elses car because it wasn't a genuine Works ie it doesn't state Works on the V5.Should it state Works on the log book by the way?

[JCW]

It will state something like this on the V5:

Make: MINI
Model: MINI John Cooper Works
Type: 3 Door Hatchback

Provided its a factory model, so if it doesn't the chances are it was a dealer modified vehicle.

[littlegearl]

unfortuantly i think you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way and ring around the insurance companies for quotes and not do it online as i doubt that your works kit will show up on anyone's radar...

i'm pretty certain your V5 should just read "Cooper S" and won't mention the kit, like buying a cooper and fitting works alloys, it won't show up on a check, yet has to be declared to the insurer...

[RKDE]

You could buy a later R53 with the JCW kit installed at the factory down the production line but there is no difference on the log book or any other record to state its a JCW, the only car which actually states its different is the GP.

I have the same issue with the car but mine was done at the dealer, there is no real difference well mechanically there is no difference. mine was done at the old john cooper garage which I see better then factory imo.

Any way you just need to tell them it is and deal with the fact that it wont know it from your plate. most JCW cars where as stated done on the day of arrival to the dealer, this has been called factory by some dealers in the past, I don't see why it would make a difference? same parts, same skill level going into the build and to top it off same paper work

[jayxx83]

greenlight are the cheapest for these JCW cars.

I paid £595 FC with a £250 excess, at 25 with no points and 4 years ncd, but 3 non fault claims.

they will list it as a cooper s with jcw engine pack. They only insure modifyed car as well so you get the best deal.

[Rakey]

okgo said:

Obviously if you read the post, you would see its 2006, so yes old shape, and yes this will be an add-on. The only factory JCW cars are r56 08 onwards.

Edited by okgo on Saturday 28th February 10:26

Incorrect, the JCW kit was offered factory fitted towards the end of the life of the R53 from end of 2005, the price was £3500 premium over the MCS but this included the brakes unlike the dealer fit kits which were without.

http://www.testdriven.co.uk/john-cooper-works-tuni...

You should know this as a dealer

Edited by Rakey on Monday 2nd March 09:44

[Rakey]

RKDE said:

You could buy a later R53 with the JCW kit installed at the factory down the production line but there is no difference on the log book or any other record to state its a JCW, the only car which actually states its different is the GP.

I have the same issue with the car but mine was done at the dealer, there is no real difference well mechanically there is no difference. mine was done at the old john cooper garage which I see better then factory imo.

Any way you just need to tell them it is and deal with the fact that it wont know it from your plate. most JCW cars where as stated done on the day of arrival to the dealer, this has been called factory by some dealers in the past, I don't see why it would make a difference? same parts, same skill level going into the build and to top it off same paper work

Correct, the log book on JCW's stated MCS, which was a bit of a bonus when you think road tax might have cost a bit more otherwise

[Rags]

You couldn't get a more varied amount of conflicting information in one thread. Jeez.