View Full Version : Insurance cost for chipped TDi's
Hi all,
I've still got 2.5 weeks 'til I get my new Ibiza TDi 130 and have free insurance with it, lucky me :-) I've been reading all the really good posts about the incrediable increase in power available with a cheap chip upgrade and was just wondering how much more it would cost on insurance? The standard car is only group 7 and so is very cheap to insure somewhere between £375 and £450 for me, what difference has it made to all you lucky ones that have their cars chipped?
Harvey..
Originally posted by Harvey
Hi all,
I've still got 2.5 weeks 'til I get my new Ibiza TDi 130 and have free insurance with it, lucky me :-) I've been reading all the really good posts about the incrediable increase in power available with a cheap chip upgrade and was just wondering how much more it would cost on insurance? The standard car is only group 7 and so is very cheap to insure somewhere between £375 and £450 for me, what difference has it made to all you lucky ones that have their cars chipped?
Harvey..
My policy was originally for an Impreza, so I don't really know yet. Dave99 paid 38% extra for the 38% increase IIRC. That way, since you're paying nothing, 38% extra is nothing to you :D
Originally posted by RB5
My policy was originally for an Impreza, so I don't really know yet. Dave99 paid 38% extra for the 38% increase IIRC. That way, since you're paying nothing, 38% extra is nothing to you :D
38% increase would still be cheap, probably the same as a group 11 car I guess :-) Well worth it.
I'll see if Seat will be happy to insure me with the upgrade, as you said I'll happly pay the extra 38% :-)
Harvey..
therein lies a small problem.
In telling seat insurance about the chip you may find they don't want to do warranty work on it.
Not saying that you shouldn't tell them but its something to bear in mind.
hmmmm I spotted that too. Catch 11*2 perhaps...
I'd guess that SEAT just get you a policy with someone else and you can then pay the extra direct to them. Possibly better not to talk to SEAT about it. Maybe Chri5b can help as he already has the free insurance?
I do indeed have free insurance from "Seat". My doc's said my premium was £640 and thank you for paying it :D
Not got any paper work with me but other than name, it's bugger all to do with Seat. I had a Clio a few years back and Renault Insurance was done by the RAC IIRC.
Not asked about mods yet to be honest, although they did add Class 1 business cover (not commercial travelling) to my policy for free.
I can look up a tel number tonight if it's any help.
Chris.
muddyboots
05-03-2003, 12:24
Hi
Got a quote from Direct Line yesterday.
As some of you know, I'm getting a TDI 130, with the Seat "Power Upgrade" fitted.
My quote for the unmodified car was £406, then they up the quote by the same percentage as the power increase.
In my case, the standard figures from Seat are 130 bhp, with an additional 25 bhp from the upgrade. This is an increase of just under 20%, which means an extra £80-odd quid on the quote, so it's now about £480.
I expect the true power figures will be higher, as most TDI PDs seem to give a fair bit more than standard anyway, but the insurers go by the "book" figures which is fine by me !
I reckon £480 for a fully comp, 25000ml/pa, 160-170bhp car is pretty reasonable !!! Maybe it's just 'cos I'm approaching 30 :eek:
mb
LEO LION R
05-03-2003, 12:36
but since the cars poewr is only one of the factors in calculating insurance premiums, shouldn't it be maybe 1/5 of the 20% power increase, and therefor e premium too ? - making it 4% rise :confused:
muddyboots
05-03-2003, 12:48
Yes, I quite agree. But there's naff all we can do is there ?
I'll ring round a few other places and see if they all do that.
I passed my IAM advanced test last year, so I'm wondering whether the IAM's insurance scheme will be any good.
mb
Its worth ringing them cos sometimes they give good quotes but I have found direct line to be most competitive this year.
slim_boy_fat
05-03-2003, 13:08
Well mabe its just me but i will not be spending £800 on a stealth type power upgrase 'revo etc.' just to tell the insurance company and get another £400 added to my insurance cos they dont know/ dont want to know, how to evaluate the risk..
Originally posted by muddyboots
Hi
Got a quote from Direct Line yesterday.
As some of you know, I'm getting a TDI 130, with the Seat "Power Upgrade" fitted.
My quote for the unmodified car was £406, then they up the quote by the same percentage as the power increase.
In my case, the standard figures from Seat are 130 bhp, with an additional 25 bhp from the upgrade. This is an increase of just under 20%, which means an extra £80-odd quid on the quote, so it's now about £480.
I expect the true power figures will be higher, as most TDI PDs seem to give a fair bit more than standard anyway, but the insurers go by the "book" figures which is fine by me !
I reckon £480 for a fully comp, 25000ml/pa, 160-170bhp car is pretty reasonable !!! Maybe it's just 'cos I'm approaching 30 :eek:
mb
Ok if the standard car makes 140hp+ and the chip makes 180hp thats a 28.5% increase in power --- however the insurance co will take the standard car as 130hp making it a 38.5% increase, wont it!!??
Can't win can you?
Harvey.
Originally posted by slim_boy_fat
Well mabe its just me but i will not be spending £800 on a stealth type power upgrase 'revo etc.' just to tell the insurance company and get another £400 added to my insurance cos they dont know/ dont want to know, how to evaluate the risk..
If you don't tell them and assuming you total the car or it is stolen and your insurrance co never know you had it, how do you expect to recoup the cost of the Revo?
slim_boy_fat
05-03-2003, 13:20
lolssssssss
You seriously think the insurance company will pay for the upgrades, do me a favour you will be lucky to get what you paied for the car - £150 per month of ownership at best!!!
please my sides are splitting!!!!!
Anyway i am sure revo would knidly upload it back on to your car, as they are such nice guys!!
Originally posted by slim_boy_fat
lolssssssss
You seriously think the insurance company will pay for the upgrades, do me a favour you will be lucky to get what you paied for the car - £150 per month of ownership at best!!!
please my sides are splitting!!!!!
Anyway i am sure revo would knidly upload it back on to your car, as they are such nice guys!!
You can insure the car for more than book value and to include extras. Eg typically you have £x amount for stereo cover but this can be increased - same can be applied to other mods.
That's the basis for insurance: to put you in the same position you were in before your claim.
There's a bloke with a VR6 in his Ibiza who has it insured for £10k. Bog standard his car is probably worth £2k but the mods and labour put in account for the difference.
muddyboots
06-03-2003, 12:17
Originally posted by Harvey
Ok if the standard car makes 140hp+ and the chip makes 180hp thats a 28.5% increase in power --- however the insurance co will take the standard car as 130hp making it a 38.5% increase, wont it!!??
Can't win can you?
Too true.
I'm hoping the Seat "Power Upgrade" is measured like the standard engine, IE the real power output/increase is higher than claimed. Perhaps the car manufacturers have a tendency to err on the side of caution with the upgrade figures; if so that's good news insurance wise!
muddyboots
06-03-2003, 12:23
Originally posted by edc
You can insure the car for more than book value and to include extras.
Can you do this with "standard" policies from most insurance companies, or are these special "agreed value" policies ?
I thought that when you estimate a value for normal car insurance, this is just used to calculate the premium.
And that it gets ignored come claim-time, when they just look up book value and give you that.
So if you under-estimate your car's value to get the premium down, they won't pay out because you under-insured. But if you over-estimate, you pay a heftier premium but only get book value if you write it off. That way they always win !
Fortunately I'm not talking from experience as I haven't written a car off. So I could be talking shite :)
On most 'standard' policies they ask you to estimate the value of your vehicle. I don't know the exact wording of all policies but some give you the opportunity to write a figure or it maybe a tick-box scenario where you might tick 'market value'. If you want extras it's just more talking and explaining but if you like these things and want them when you have claimed you have to tell them.
If you said 'my exhaust rusted and it was cheaper to get a Magnex', they might say ok but it is worth no more than a standard item.
Look out for 'like for like' type clauses/exclusions/additions, or words which will value things at current market or cost value.
Stero equipment is an easy example to use and read about.
slim_boy_fat
06-03-2003, 13:36
Back in the real world where we all dont have £1000s to spend on insurance, the point is that yes you can insure anything, obviously thats the buisness insurance compnies are in but you will pay for it and as the percived risk increases so does you premium!! Its really that simple.
I will take the risk of not getting money back for the Revo, but i wont be paying the EXTRA for the revo performance upgrade + the EXTRa for the increased value of the car. It would prob add up to over the £499 you pay for the Revo...
Simple arithmetic really. Insurance companies are out to make money, thats what they do. So if you are below the average percentile zone then you will loose in terms of what you pay to what you get back.
Mr i payed insurance for 40 years and have never made a claim!!
On the other hand you could be Mr i caused the Hatfield train crash and it has cost £40 million... Guess he has got is lifetimes moneys worth in insurance!!!!
If Revo costs £500 and your car is worth £10k, Revo increase the value by 5%. If your insurance extra premium total less than £500 over say 5 years then it may be worth your while financially to insure.
In any case if you don't then technically your policy is invalid and your insurer can void your policy.
slim_boy_fat
06-03-2003, 15:06
So we are all the way back to the reson that Revo is a 'stealth' or hidden map. So you dont have to tell the insurance company if you dont want to!!!!
Thats a decision that each individual must make.
And these no way the insurance would only go up by £100 per year....More like £250 - £300 per year....
So it just aint worth it.
Originally posted by slim_boy_fat
So we are all the way back to the reson that Revo is a 'stealth' or hidden map. So you dont have to tell the insurance company if you dont want to!!!!
Thats a decision that each individual must make.
And these no way the insurance would only go up by £100 per year....More like £250 - £300 per year....
So it just aint worth it.
In your opinion of course, and I don't doubt your judgment nor will I suggest your opinion is wrong cos none can be. There are others who are much more cautious and I'd include all those who feel the need to ask in this category. Those like you who know what they want just go and do it. Fair play.
LEO LION R
06-03-2003, 15:13
On the other hand you could be Mr i caused the Hatfield train crash and it has cost £40 million... Guess he has got is lifetimes moneys worth in insurance!!!!
or no insurance cover because they investigated thoroughly and found out that you had paid a company called Revotechnik for an ecu upgrade but not declared it on your insurance .
like you say your risk and they are out to make money, so if they can wriggle and find anything that is non standard then they will.
You can bet if it a serious accident then the police will have access to find out evrything about you and the car.
Worth the extra £100 or lees IMHO
:cheers:
slim_boy_fat
06-03-2003, 18:00
£100 extra, i will believe that when i see it.
As for Mr Hatfield he has alread gone to jail for 5 years and i dont think they could recover £40m even through a warrant sale. Well maybe if he was David Beckam
and it says: "All policies are on a market value basis, agreed value cover is not available"
Mods like brakes and chips don't add to market value, according to most insurers, so your new Brembo 4-pots or H&R Cup kit will be lost.
Other insurers may give you an agreed value or value your mods.
When I got my wheels etc and insured with NU direct they said they would replace them as long as I had the receipt. Some other companies said they would replace with manufacturers originals. It pays to check exactly what you get for your money as not all quotes are for the same type of cover. This applies to any insurance cover, get like for like quotes.
At the end of the day if they are asking more money for extras they should be looking at giving more back, but usually it's just for the extra risk of theft or you driving faster etc.
Or if it looks more stealable and a better joyride.
slim_boy_fat
08-03-2003, 22:34
Spent 2 hours todayy trying to get the best quote for insuring a 130tdi Ibiza...
6 quotes..2 very high..cira £600
2 medium..........£500
2 low.............£400
All quotes were for a standard car, no modificatios...
I asked 3 of them to quote me if the car was chipped and they said that they wouldnt cover it.
Any suggestions on where to get a good quote welcome.
:)
LEO LION R
09-03-2003, 16:03
Have you tried Ggreenlight, many people have their insurance with them, because competative and chip friendly. ?
:cheers:
slim_boy_fat
14-03-2003, 19:55
Originally posted by LEO LION R
Have you tried Ggreenlight, many people have their insurance with them, because competative and chip friendly. ?
:cheers:
Tried them, he laughed and said take the £400 quote then hung up. I think he was suggesting he couldnt get near that!!
I was also under the impression that greenlight will only discount cover Cupras?