When is a modification not a modification?

[Falchoon]

Why would you need to tell insurance about Edit? Not as if the insurance company is going to get your wreck and run it on the dyno to check you haven't modded it. There's nothing to see, it's just a computer program flashed into your ECU right? I know technically this is a mod and you are supposed to disclose it to insurance company but...

I can understand telling them about other mods. Though when does a replacement part become a mod? ie. your exhaust gets a hole in it (rusts out or scraped on a speed hump) so you just go down to your local exhaust shop to get a new one fitted don't you?! Not many people would go back to the dealer and pay 3 times as much just for a "genuine" exhaust that is probably actually aftermarket anyway and just sold through the dealer. Do you really need to tell insurance about that? "I didn't know that the car gained 20kw" :lol:

What about if you buy a replacement air cleaner element from K-Mart or Autobarn? Is that a mod? Could make your car slower if you buy a cheap one. Or you could use a K & N or similar and actually gain power, how are you to know? Your tyres wear out so you rockdown to the local tyre shop and replace the Dunlops with Yokohamas - is this a "mod"?

So what do you tell the insurance company? Everything you do to a car is a modification of sorts, even if it's not performance enhancing.

"Hello NRMA, I just ArmourAlled the tyresand put new seat covers on, can you please give a new price on my premium? What do you mean I've just exceeded my three mods policy...."

[geea]

This is a very interesting question. Does anyone have any first hand experience ?

Geea.

[Mr Turbo]

[dswiders]

So once I get the 2nd cold air intake fitted, should I be telling AAMI about this ?

I'm just making the car breath better.

When I get the injectors done, should I be telling them that the cars thirsty ?

Or look at it as being, injectors themselves so I got better ones.

When I get the Edit done, should I tell them that I've just had the car tuned ?

I think they'ed laugh at that one until I say I've changed the program parameters within the ECU.

I'll worry about this when they get done.

Daniel

[Eugene]

IMHO,

Any obvious visual mods such as lowering, wheels, Farking huge Exhaust etc, they should be told, but how are they going to know if you have an edit, or unichip, or xede, hi flow injectors etc, do you think they will strip the trany and check line pressures and clutch material, me thinks not.

I feel it is a case of using common sense,

It would also depend on the type of claim you are fileing, if you got run up the rrrs at a set of light it should not matter, ditch it on a bendy bit of country road, different story.

[Guest Gilto]

Tell em' nothing! All insurance companies can

[twinxrs]

Hi All

This also comes down to that much posted about issue - ADR compliance.

Here we go again !

Having spoken to my insurer, I was informed that it is my responsibility to ensure that I can prove that my car is "legal".

How do I do this ? With an engineers certificate... (not this old argument again !)

What needs to be engineered ? Pretty much anything that isn't originally made or specified by Ford.

So aftermarket rims need the report, but if I go and slap on a set of non-Dunlop tires with identical specifications, then no report.

I asked the engineer that did my Phase II paperwork - what about a set of DBA 4000 slotted rotors ? As long as they are made to Ford's specifications (size etc) then it's not considered a mod. The same goes for after-market air filters etc.

Same with an exhaust - is it the same as the original Ford design ? If the after-market one is of a similar capacity then you're fine, but the APS or Nizpro with the larger high-flow cat etc, it's a mod...

It's not the manufacturer of the item but it's specifications - is it a "drop-in" replacement for a Ford component ? That's a pretty easy question to answer...

Insurance companies will look at the obvious to get out of a claim - if it takes a standard T 35 metres to accelerate to 50kmh (for instance), but an accident investigation shows that your car did it in half that - you are going to be asked some serious questions...

[Guest rexsti]

This thread should really be a continuation of "Car Legality" to which I posted the following and am interested in your responses....

I'm a newbie and have read this thread from the start and am disappointed that it seems to have died some months ago.

I would like to offer the following scenario and hear what the other contributors have to say.

Mr X decides to buy a used T with mods but being technically illiterate about cars, and has not seen this thread or heard about "Engineering Certificates", insists on getting his own "Roadworthy Certificate" so he can be sure the car is OK.

The car is given a glowing report and passes the Roadworthy with flying colours so Mr X buys the car, notifies his insurance company about the mods and transfers the registration into his own name.

Has he not done all that could be "reasonable expected" (an insurance term) to ensure the car is legal?

How could an insurance company get away with denying a claim when the owner genuinely had made a reasonable effort to ensure his car was "Roadworthy"?

In Victoria all that is required by Vic Roads to register a vehicle is a Roadworthy Certificate. I have seen many vehicles put off the road by over zealous police officers only to have them back on the road the next day WITH a roadworthy certificate that involved no more than going to an authorised roadworthy issuer and having it checked. No mods or changes required. No demands for "Engineering Certificates" were made and the car is back on the road.

As far as the owner is concerned the car is roadworthy!

I know that ignorance is no defence under the law but I would have thought that getting a roadworthy certificate would be considered by the vast majority of the population to mean the car was legal!

Anyway, let's see if this gets the thread going again.....

The original thread makes for VERY interersting reading and I would recommend anyone who has not read through it do so to get themselves up to speed with the topic.

[Guest rexsti]

Sorry, I used blue to highlight the earlier quote and it really is impossible to read. Just highlight it and it's easy to read in reverse video..

[Falchoon]

IMHO,

Any obvious visual mods such as lowering, wheels, Farking huge Exhaust etc, they should be told, but how are they going to know if you have an edit, or unichip, or xede,

I feel it is a case of using common sense,

It would also depend on the type of claim you are fileing, if you got run up the rrrs at a set of light it should not matter, ditch it on a bendy bit of country road, different story.

A chip is visually detectable, I would feel obligated to tell insurance company about that. If you a major stack and you are lying there bleeding to death with your car wrapped around a tree you aren't going to be in a position to remove it.

On another forum there was a thread where this young guy had the car insured in his parent's name and didn't disclose that he was a the main regular driver. The car was stolen from his work and insurance told him they weren't going to pay because he didn't disclose all the details. He was arguing the car could of got stolen if his mum or dad were driving and the company was arguing back that there would be no reason for the car to be at that location if someone else had been driving therefore it wouldn't of got stolen. They could use the same argument about mods. If it wasn't modded (undeclared mods) then it wouldn't of been as attractive to a thief, so sorry no claim for you.

Another forum member had their car broken into and they stole the aftermarket CD player. Insurance weren't going to pay up or they only would for a genuine cassette radio because CD player wasn't listed on the policy. It was only after it was pointed out to the insurance company that a replacement aftermarket CD player was considerably cheaper than genuine radio cassette that they finally relented and agreed to the claim.