M20str Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 My 02 52 3.0 Cab came with 16" multispoke wheels as standard that look horrible so deciding to change them I thought I better ask the insurance people. My current insurer (Halifax) won't even accept different wheels, be they OEM Audi or after market, or any Mods at all. I have been thru a load of other quotes tonight and they all seem pretty high. I am 38 male, 3 points (SP30), 1 claim (non fault and claim was against the other persons policy not mine so they didn't even have to recover it !), 18 years licence and no claims, 15k miles a year, SDP use. The best I can get for Protected no claims with £515 from Privilege but they want an extra £160 to change the wheels !!!!!!. Mind you they have saif call back on Tuesday and they will speak to the underwriters and see of putting OEM wheels that were around when the car was made, are classe as a factory option. Any suggstions as to what to do or which insurere you are with? Oh, and by the way, can you tell me what the wheels were that were available for the car as a factory fit when it was built so that I know what I am talking about? Do Audi keep a track (and would an insurance claims chap be abel to find out) of precisely a cars spec? Cheers Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 If you keep to OEM wheels that were available at the time your car was released I'm sure it just wouldn't be an insurance issue. I mean, you don't tell them if you specced a centre armrest, or sat nav etc. If it's a factory option (such as upgraded wheels) I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. IMO you should be looking for 17" 5 spoke "Star" alloys, or the 9 spoke 17" or 18" RS4/RSTT alloys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M20str Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Any comments on this? I'd hate to think I'm deceiving the insurance b4ast4ards as they can scr3w you for the smallest slip up. I like shark_90s logic but................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_m Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 I have even had insurance quotes and they have wanted to know every optional extra that was on the car If you do go for OEM wheels, go for the 18" RS6 wheels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 yup, for Admiral I had to list every factory fitted option on the car, even though they don't cover options or something daft like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_m Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Yeah, I am with Admiral too! Although on this change of car I wasnt asked anything about the options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Admiral here too. Just picked up my new A4 S-Line SE quattro today - they wanted a list of every option on the car, but stressed the fact that in the case of a write-off, they would not cover any of the options! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korkster Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Same with Direct Line, they got me to list everything, but they put Bose, Wheels, Leather, Uprated Engine on as Mods. They weren't interested with Xenons, Armrest etc. But then again they dont list the SE on there system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 I've got all on getting my insurance company to care which vehicle I'm actually driving, when I changed cars they had it down as a B5 A4 1.8 for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 I got a quote this morning of £441 ...if it wasn't modded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Admiral here too. Just picked up my new A4 S-Line SE quattro today - they wanted a list of every option on the car, but stressed the fact that in the case of a write-off, they would not cover any of the options! [/ QUOTE ] How can they do this?! A car could have thousands of pounds worth of extras and they wouldn't pay out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Declare all non-factory fitted mods. Even if you don't tell them about something small and you want to claim, they may not pay out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted April 16, 2006 Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 [ QUOTE ] My current insurer (Halifax) won't even accept different wheels, be they OEM Audi or after market, or any Mods at all. [/ QUOTE ] How do Esure (the underwriter) know what is on there to start with? 17" quattro Postitano alloys (below) are a factory option, and if your insurers don't know what the car came with, what is the difference? Put them on, take lots of photographs and dispose of the old wheels in a private fashion leaving no paper trail. They are Audi alloys. and you don't have to pay a surcharge. <font color="#666666">credit to APReading for the image of his gorgeous demin blue B6 A4 Avant 1.8 quattro.</font> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M20str Posted April 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 The flaw to this cunning plan is that Audi keep a factory spec on their records of each car that an insurance assessor can get hold of. If your car is different from the factory spec they can refuse to pay out. Thats a BIG risk. Well, actually, as I deal with risk as the main part of my job, it's a medium probability but a high level impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted April 16, 2006 Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 What stops a previous owner making the change and you buying the car without realising? The car is still a 'standard' Audi. Insurance refusing the pay out in the event of a total loss simply because you have one style of Audi alloys not another is highly unlikely. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted April 16, 2006 Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 If it was just a case of a different style of wheel I imagine there'd be less of an issue. However, many people buy larger rims at the same time. I'd like to change my wheels, but I also want 18" instead of the oem 17". I wouldn't feel comfortable with the possibility my insurance company wouldn't pay out, if they found out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted April 16, 2006 Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Admiral here too. Just picked up my new A4 S-Line SE quattro today - they wanted a list of every option on the car, but stressed the fact that in the case of a write-off, they would not cover any of the options! [/ QUOTE ] That's what Elephant (part of the same group AFAIK) told me when I was looking for quotes for the 535d. Needless to say I didn't give them my business - the car has over £4k of extras, which I quite wanted covering!! They actually told me, over the phone, that in the event of an accident that only damaged one of my (optional) xenons they would replace the damaged one with a standard light Not sure how legal a car with one halogen and one xenon light is, but figured if it was going to be hard work before they had my money, it sure wouldn't get any easier afterwards... Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Why take the risk with a £25k car for the sake of paying the insurers a few extra measly quid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulyb Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Guys can I just clarify something here about standard and non standard? I've ordered an A3 3.2 S-Line, there's an option for two part 20 spoke alloys which I've gone for. They are still 18" though which is the size of the standard wheel. It'll be fitted in the factory but does this now mean that my car is modified to the insurers? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Guys can I just clarify something here about standard and non standard? I've ordered an A3 3.2 S-Line, there's an option for two part 20 spoke alloys which I've gone for. They are still 18" though which is the size of the standard wheel. It'll be fitted in the factory but does this now mean that my car is modified to the insurers? [/ QUOTE ] I've got 5 arm alloys on my car, which were a no-cost option & still 18". My insurance policy schedule lists them as - "Alloy wheels (optional extra) Exterior decorative changes" All the other options are lumped together as "Interior changes" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjfr Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I wouldn't feel comfortable with the possibility my insurance company wouldn't pay out, if they found out. [/ QUOTE ] Come on! That's so stupid - if the wheels are OEM then they're OEM. Look at how many cars have non standard rims. I bet 70% didn't declare those (either they couldn't be arsed or they didn't know). Insurance is a joke. OEM is OEM & quite frankly, I'd never tell them if I changed & declaring options is taking the piss - that's why you say what the value of your car is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Declaring the value of the car means bugger all though. I could say I paid 30k for mine and they would increase the premium to match. But if it was stolen, or whatever, they would only give me market value. If they didn't have the optional extras listed, in my case parking sensors, symphony II, load packs, etc, they would only pay out on the market value of a bog standard S-Line at the time of the claim. In my post where that quote came from I was discussing new wheels that are the next size up. This is most definitely classed as a modification by the insurance companies and we all know how they look for every opportunity to avoid paying out. If they found out I had fitted bigger, differently styled wheels, even if they were oem, can you give me a 100% guarantee they wouldn't try to avoid paying out, or at least reduce the payout due to my not making a full declaration? Didn't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjfr Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 It wasn't a go at you, it was a go at the insurance companies. It's a joke that they can say that OEM wheels are a mod, or refuse to cover optional extras. I just think that insurance is pretty much worthless, and they are just looking for new ways to con us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 AFAIK, anything fitted at time of manufacture, whether an option or not, is factory fitted and does not have to be declared. Audi keep a record of all specs against the VIN numbers. Anything of this nature does not need to be declared. Anything fitted after delivery should be discussed with your insurers to see if they class it as a mod. I've told mine about my bling mirrors etc. They made a note it was on the car, but no policy increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Ok, I got the wrong end of the stick, sorry. It varies from insurance company to company. We were getting several quotes and one compnay springs to mind - Tesco. They classed every option, even those added at point of order and factory fitted as an option, and wanted them declared. It increased the premium so much we just laughed and hung up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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