Insurance Q's about cars with differnt engines in!

[SwirlyE30]

I know a lot of guys do engine swaps, big 3.5's in sports etc. As well as replacement engines with the same sizeI was just wondering what your stance in surance was.

How exactly does it work if you just stick another lump in the motor, say your 2.5 is fucked on your sport, and you want another one in there, are there any markings on the engine that will give it away and let anyone (insurance inspectors!!) know that its not legit?


I ask as im very keen on sticking my brothers 1.8is engine in my 1.8 in the summer. I like my car, and its basically got everything an is has, bar the engine . Im not sure what way to go with insurance. Do i a) just keep my same policy as a 318i, b)insure the car as an is (but then wouldnt they check against the number plate etc?) or c) tell them its had an engine swap


Im figuring a or b, seeing as im currently under my dads policy as a named driver (im 17), so it would work out a lot better for me. Not too sure how cheap it would be if i start telling them its had a differnt lump put in it!


Obviously i dont want to be totally illegal.But if i can get away with (and i think i can) just keeping the 318i insurance, or at least taking out a new policy in my name and just say its an is, then i will.

[M3RAGS]

not worth the risk mate . Insurance inspectors will look over the car with a fine tooth comb if you were to have a crash and someone died for example. Just not worth it at all.

[SwirlyE30]

What about insuring it as an IS mate? I dont get what all these boys like, dave etc do. When he put his 2.5 in the touring etc.

[Ziggy]

i dont want to be totally illegal

You said it! Just tell the truth... or you'll end up with someone sueing you for compensation, an insurance company that ain't liable, & you'll really wonder if that was worth it for the sake of a few BHP / Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£!

Try someone like adrian flux - you may be pleasantly surprised...

[Ziggy]

What about insuring it as an IS mate? I dont get what all these boys like, dave etc do. When he put his 2.5 in the touring etc.

You'll have to ask Dave, but I bet he told em about it... you can't just pretend it's a different car - they know these things!

I've heard loads of instances of Adrian Flux insuring people for less on say a 1.1 corsa with a 2.0 in it, than a standard 1.3! It sounds insane, but insurance prices rarely make sense...

[E30BeemerLad]

Hi, I work for a law firm that specialises in dealing with RTA claims, we receive claims for injury and uninsured loss recovery directly from some of the big insurers.

The simple answer to your query is that it is adiseable to declare any mods otherwise you can come seriously unstuck at the time a claim arises.

You wouldn't be able to disguise the engine swap you were on about anyway as the iS has the 16valver lump which clearly looks different to the standard lump. Plus it is unusual for a car to have an engine swap and not have mods elsewhere, such as lowered, non-standard alloys etc, so if an assessor came to look at your motor and noticed external mods, it gets them looking at other areas.

[Chaos]

What about insuring it as an IS mate? I dont get what all these boys like, dave etc do. When he put his 2.5 in the touring etc.

no, u need to tell them what it was originally and that its been changed to a diff engine.

unfortunately quite often it will be more expensive to insure a 318i with a 2,5 fitted than an original 325i.

if u go the "illegal" route and get caught the consequences cud be severe, its not worth it.

[6potWil6pot]

Adrian Flux are good in my experience, infact im insured on my car for about Ԛ£200 less than a 325i Cab (they know its got a M50 24v in it too). I dont know how they calculate ratings but they obviously havent driven my car

[glenn]

i'd tell the insurance company what you've done.
it'll probably only be a couple of pounds extra .
trust me , you'll feel better driving down the road knowing it's insured properly.
allready had a quote for my project car and it doesn't break the bank.

[SwirlyE30]

Cheers for the replies guys. Its starting to annoy me, cos the only thing really holding me back is the insurance!

Because im under my dads policy with Tesco's im not sure how much they will want extra to say its had another lump in, hopfully not much. Although its either that, or take out my own policy of about 2500 with someone like adrian flux.

[Zayyan]

If you put an iS engine in, they should just insure it as an iS rather than a modified 318i, so it really shouldn't be too much more.

When Dave put his 2.5 in they just insured it as a standard 325i touring

[Davenotouring]

Mate,

I called the insurance like I told ya, it cost me an exra Ԛ£65.

Check how much it is before you do it.

I hope your Dad uses the car more than you?!

[SwirlyE30]

Zayyan.Good point mate.Although i cant just say its an IS, ill have to tell them its had another engine in, which might bump it up a bit compared to just buying and insuring an IS.

But ill see what they say, ill ring aroung, and get my dad to try and see what his policy can be changed for.


Dave....he never uses it mate lol, but hes a mechanic and has a traders policy so he drives a differnt car everyday, so its easily blaggable.

[Ziggy]

I hope your Dad uses the car more than you?!

's another good point actually - I've heard that you're not covered if they can prove you're actually the main driver!
Get your own policy... It's well worth it when you can enjoy your nice big NCB

[SwirlyE30]

Yeh ideally id like my own policy mate.But ive only been driving a few months . I can get insured on an is for about 2500-3000 on my own name in september on my birthday which is only a few months away.


I dont think theirs too much concern with my dad using the car etc, he somtimes takes it down to work to work on it etc so he does/as driven it, anyway, i cant see how they would check that its not being used by him, its quite easily could be

[Ziggy]

Yeh ideally id like my own policy mate.But ive only been driving a few months . I can get insured on an is for about 2500-3000 on my own name in september on my birthday which is only a few months away.


I dont think theirs too much concern with my dad using the car etc, he somtimes takes it down to work to work on it etc so he does/as driven it, anyway, i cant see how they would check that its not being used by him, its quite easily could be

2.5/3k?! Blimmin 'eck!

I've heard of insurance people asking sly questions of the neighbours - if they say "oh yeah that's the kid next door's car", then they've got you!

[6potWil6pot]

Im not sure if ive said it before but paying high prices for insurance because your young is stupid. Ive been there, my 316i and 318iS cost just as much to insure as my current 6 cyl powerhouse and looking back it wasnt worth it Paying as much or even more than a cars worth for insurance takes the complete p!$$, looking back with some hindsight id have sat on something like a Ford Fiesta 1.1 on ur own policy and waited until i was 21 then got a minter of an E30.

The premiums nowhere near reflected the enjoyment i got out of the cars i drove

[SwirlyE30]

True will. But look at it my way mate, i live at home, dont go out much, do drink, dont smoke, i can kind of justify 50 quid a week insurance. Thing is, i love cars, and i love powerfull/nice cars. And most of the time i go out isnt to go somewhere, its to just go for a drive and enjoy it. I really wouldnt enjoy driving a fiesta for another 4 years.

I know what your saying mate, but i think im up for paying high insurance.I dont want to, but ive got nothing else to spend it on lol

A lot of guys on here seem to be quite young as well and pay a fair bit, Billgates 18 on a sport, karan, etc. I know its not the best route, but ill be dammed if i drive somthing that aint a beemer !

[6potWil6pot]

Hmm guess in ur situation it sounds justified.

The mk1 Toyota MR2 has pretty low insurance, same group as a 316i and its dammn good to drive, some might have jap car snobbery but its a good machine, i almost got one as an insurance buster option.

But yeah if youve got nothing else to spend the $ $ on it sounds good...

[Zayyan]

Sam how often do you "go out for a drive"?

If it's every day then this wouldn't work, but a mate of mine is 18 and has his own policy with a year's no claims (which some insurance co's give you automatically if you have Pass Plus ), and he can add cars to the policy for a day for a decent price.

They wanted Ԛ£6.70 to insure my 316i for a day, and only Ԛ£7.30 for a 320i.

If you just got insurance in your own name on something in a very low insurance group it'd cost under a grand for insurance and you could get something like an iS or maybe even a 320i or 325i (though we haven't rung for a quote to see if this one's possible) and add it to the policy whenever you want to drive it.

It's not ideal I know, but at least you wouldn't be getting ripped off on insurance.

Best thing is we rang up at noon on one day to insure it for the next day, and they quoted for the next day but said that it was insured from when we called up until a minute to midnight the next day, so you kinda get two days for the price of one as well....

[SwirlyE30]

Didnt mean to sound like i was saying you were wrong mate! Not at all, youve got a very good point. I just figure that i love cars, and i might as well spend the money somewhere where i know i can reap the rewards.


The oldskool MR2's are pretty cool! Surely their not the same to insure as a 316? What engines they got mate?




Zayyan, yeh i heard about other people doing that mate. But i dont think it would be that practical in my situation as this is my main and only car. But thats quite good to know, just incase i want to inure my brothers 2.7 for the day lol (yeh right!!)

[6potWil6pot]

Mr2 mk1 has a 1.6 16v pumping out about 125bhp, very good for the 1980s, its pretty swift cause it doesnt weight very much. Take a look at some if theres any local, also Toby Una runs an MR2, ask him to tell you a bit about em.

I got a quote and i could have switched from my 316i to the MR2 for no extra, dont write off jap before you try it!

[Zayyan]

i dont think it would be that practical in my situation as this is my main and only car. But thats quite good to know, just incase i want to inure my brothers 2.7 for the day lol (yeh right!!)

Thing is, if you got something 1-litre as a runaround for when you're going places (it'll be a lot more economical too! ) and just kept an E30 as "something for the weekend" you're still pretty much guaranteed to save money.

You don't need to spend much on the E30 as if you're just using it for the fun of it it doesn't need to look good....you could even get a bit of weight reduction going!

Plus of course you'd be earning no claims bonus on the 1-litre (well I guess you could stretch it to 1.1 ), making it much cheaper to insure a much quicker car in the future....

[Chaos]

Dave....he never uses it mate lol, but hes a mechanic and has a traders policy so he drives a differnt car everyday, so its easily blaggable.

ah right so ur named on the traders policy then ?

If you put an iS engine in, they should just insure it as an iS rather than a modified 318i, so it really shouldn't be too much more.

why?

it is a modified 318i not a 318iS so thats what it shud be insured as.

[Zayyan]

If you put an iS engine in, they should just insure it as an iS rather than a modified 318i, so it really shouldn't be too much more.

why?

it is a modified 318i not a 318iS so thats what it shud be insured as.

I meant that they'd acknowledge the fact it's a modified 318i but insure it as if it were an iS, i.e. charge the same price

[E30BeemerLad]

bottom line with insurance guys is that you need to have it and you just end up cheating yourself by not declaring any mods. Also the old trick of getting the old man to insure the car and you end up using it all the time as a "named driver" doesn't work, especially if you have any sort of claim or accident. Insurers ain't daft and will often make further enquiries when a young named driver has an accident on the policy, even more alarm bells go off when there is a sniff of modification to the car.

I have been there myself, really hacked off paying Ԛ£150 a month instalments on my insurance for a car worth half the premiums, but you have to start somewhere and earn some NCD.

I would have some grave concerns about driving on a trader policy particularly if the car is registered in your or your father's name.

Repeating the advice others have given here, best to speak with a specialist broker such as adrian flux or direct choice.

To put matters into perspective, I am 30, my wife is 27, for both of us fully comp on a modified 325i (giving them an estimate the car has 200BHP), together with urated suspension & brakes, I have 7 years NCD and live in York and the premiums are coming in at around Ԛ£450. SO still not massively cheap even for the older drivers.

Finally, if you end up doing anything dodgy with your insurance what happens is that if you have a fault accident and are TPFT cover, your insurers have a legal obligation to deal with the third party claim, but they will pay the third party their claim and any personal injury etc, anf then come after you for what they have paid out. Trust me, I do this for a living, (suing people after road traffic accidents)

[Turbo-Brown]

I know it's not what you wanna hear, but you're really better off waiting a couple of years before modding a car.

Either that or buying something shite and cheap to insure for everyday use and then putting the BM on a limited mileage policy as a second car.

[Chaos]

I would have some grave concerns about driving on a trader policy particularly if the car is registered in your or your father's name

why?

on a normal policy yeah i wudnt recommend it ever, but on a traders its different.

[E30BeemerLad]

because the point of a trade policy is that the vehicles when driven on the policy are supposed to be for trade purposes, not social domestic and pleasure. So if you have an accident you will find yourself having to make up some bollocks about how you were driving the car for trade purposes at the time. Try explaining that one when you're 200 miles from home with a car full of injured mates.

[Chaos]

because the point of a trade policy is that the vehicles when driven on the policy are supposed to be for trade purposes, not social domestic and pleasure. So if you have an accident you will find yourself having to make up some bollocks about how you were driving the car for trade purposes at the time. Try explaining that one when you're 200 miles from home with a car full of injured mates.

thats total bollo* im afraid.

[E30BeemerLad]

A motor trade policy is a Ԛ“blanketԚâ€a policy that covers a motor trader to drive any vehicle Ԛ“under his custody or control for motor trade purposes.Ԛâ€a This is vital when a motor trader has several vehicles in his care - customersԚ' vehicles, demonstration use (including testing of customersԚ' vehicles and demonstration of vehicles for sale), stock vehicles for sale (including those either on a forecourt or standing on the highway) and the motor traderԚ's own vehicles.

[fastcarz464]

i didnt know 17 year olds can go on a traders policy? im 19 and would benifit from a traders policy, does anyone know any companys that will insure my dad as a trader with me on the policy? how much is it normally, a few prople has told my dad to get me on a traders polcy as i buy and sell a few cars in my spare time!

[E30BeemerLad]

there's a couple of specialist brokers out there that can insurer "traders" without premises etc.

check out roadrunner insurance, one of the search engines will take you there, also a company called tradex specialise in trade cover.

They will be able to offer you the best advice for your circumstances, but i still believe that as a trader, it is difficult to drive your own car on the trade policy every day, but they will settle the argument

[Chaos]

A motor trade policy is a Ԛ“blanketԚâ€a policy that covers a motor trader to drive any vehicle Ԛ“under his custody or control for motor trade purposes.Ԛâ€a This is vital when a motor trader has several vehicles in his care - customersԚ' vehicles, demonstration use (including testing of customersԚ' vehicles and demonstration of vehicles for sale), stock vehicles for sale (including those either on a forecourt or standing on the highway) and the motor traderԚ's own vehicles.

well my traders policy covers me for social domestic and pleasure as well.


i know a guy (friend of parents) who owns a nice sized garage where he selss cars etc.

its a family business and he supplies his wife and kids with cars and insurance throught the company trade policy. All the family members are covered for sdp use, and all work at the garage from time to time.

If swirlys old mans policy allows sdp and swirly is named on the policy then there is absolutely no problem with him using the car.

[E30BeemerLad]

Well that answers that one then