hey, i got my first scooby, which is good and im loving it thing is though its only a gl and the exhaust tip is pitiful. so i phoned insurance company (direct line because they give me a year no claims from my scooter) to see how much it would go up for a new backbox, they say the whole car wont be covered at all if i mod it because im a young driver with 3 years ncb...what is the actual point in insuring me for a scoob and not letting me mod it.not like im driveing a nova or a saxo is it? anyway moan over (sorry lol) question for you... is it a modification to use an exhaust off of a higher level like a sti with a nicer exhaust? same car, similar engine bla bla bla. just the backbox i want. and should i even tell them if i do use one like that. any coppers able to explain how id get caught with a backbox unless i crash??? thanks people.

 

You might not be insured if you crash and may be breaking the law.

Change insurers or something, don't break the law.

 

dont have the nuts not to tell them anyway.lol. but id rather try to get them to insure me with a backbox than change, obviously. any ideas to get round it that way

 

its a tough one, my previous insures told me that i could change my wheels to alloys on my 306 aslong as they were the pug alloys and it would make no difference, how ever if i changed the colour of the wheels i would have to tell them as it wouldnt be genuine pug, so i would spk to them again first and ask if you change it to a different type of subaru bk box would it be ok, if they agree it is get them to note it on the poilcy always handy to have in writting. then find a sti or simular bk box that will fit you car

 

We had EXACTLY the same with my eldest's Ibiza, lovely car, bought with 17" alloys as part of the deal with the SEAT dealer.

BUT: tell the insurers, sorry, we can't/won't insure you.

Took us an age and £200+ extra to get insurance for him.

 

its a crap buisness, need to legaly buy it but they wont sell what you need. they said if its like for like and "if the inspector who looks at the car in event of crash and cant tell its different then its ok " which sounds a bit dodgey but they said it. argued that kwikfit wouldnt fit the exact same as i have they finealy gave in and said if they cant tell the difference it will count as like for like.

 

Simple just don't get any insurance. With the money you have saved by doing this you could invest heavily in the crack cocaine industry and within 12months quadruple your investment giving you enough money to buy a proper STi.

Thats what i'd do anyway!

 

lol k then il try that and if it doesnt work il just blow up direct line hq

 

It is a case of changing companies at renewal and finding someone that will let you insure it. I had a similar problem with a dump valve, I have ppp on my car with prodrive alloys on, my Insurance company where happy to insure it , I said i had a dump valve they said "we don't insure that mod ". I tried another company and they said we can insure you with the dump valve but at twice the cost you currently pay. The dump valve came off!

 

When the back box on my old GL got all rotten and blown , it was my lucky day, when our local dealer had a parts clear out at scooby day in alton some years ago.

He had a good used WRX exhaust that had been changed as part of a PPP upgrade, It would he confirmed, fit the GL with a small change to the mounting point

And it had a nice burble too

a quick visit by a fellow scooby owner with a mig welder, and i had replaced the poor old blown back box, with a genuine Subaru replacement.


Mart

 

The get out clause is that each vehicle will have an OE spec from everything such as tyres, to exhausts. If they want to be particular they can check what exhaust is fitted as an OE part and what you currently have. Just because it has Subaru on it doesn't make it OE spec equipment. You wouldn't class an STi engine in a WRX as OE spec would you?

 

What you have to remember is that the likes of direct line (and a lot of the others) are just interested in insuring bog standard cars which covers probably 90% of motorists. They do not have the knowledge (from an insurance underwriting pint of view) to assess the affect of modifications, for that your better of speaking to some of the specialist insurers.

Have a look in the insurance section here, I was v.please with Moley after Priviledge refused to insure my WRX as it had a WR Sport exhaust fitted- hey ho their loss.

 

just had the same with mine. insured with cat back system and was told that future mods would be ok. tried to add some anti roll bars and droplinks to my policy and they wont insure me for the changes. so cant fit them until renewal time, so i wont be using swinton/ highway again.
my advice insure with somebody else when it due as the last thing you would want is a police office pulling you over, checking your insurance and asking if any mods on there and your insurance saying no, car then impounded for no insurance. probably never happen but do you want to take that chance.

 

Just get a big fake chrome exhaust screw-on extension from Halfrauds.... job done !!

 

You could always do the mods, and not tell them. If anything was to happen you could try pulling the "i bought the car as standard and had no idea at all it was modified, why would i know i'm not a mechanic" card. Risky card it is though....

it is YOUR responsibility to tell your insurers at the end of the day, and your responsilibity to know your own vehicle, that said how many people have NO insurance at all, and walk away from court with a stern talking too, and £150 fine...prob far less than the additional insurace would cost?!!??

 

This is true.

The standard insurance proposal question is "has the vehicle been modified to alter it's performance". Hence alloys are usually ok. However, the wording can alternatively be simply "has the vehicle been modified from it's standard specifiaction", in which case fitting a bodykit would breach that.

Any performance mods will usually result in a loading of premium, although some insurers will let you get away with an exhaust alone. I reckon insurers think a VTA doubles a Scoobs bhp!

My car is insured with Highway (note earlier post) but arranged through Keith Michaels/ Moley. All mods are insured - I should point on an earlier thread it was suggested that my 300bhp bug WRX was "more or less standard". I doubt the insurers would see it like that!

Andy

 

When the back box on my classic STi sprung a leak due to corrosion, it would not pass the emission test until the leak was repaired.

Les