How Can I Insure a modded car without selling both kidneys?

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DreamingOfJDM

New Member
I know this question that probably gets asked a lot but I'm new to the forum so please be gentle.

I'm hoping to buy something jap within the next year but while I scrape together the magic beans to buy one I wanted to see how much insurance would be so I can factor in all the costs. But not to my surprise anything slightly modified sends my quotes f***ing skyrocketing.

I'm 22 with 3 years no claims and I can get quotes for a standard 200sx for ~£850 which would include my commuting to work and mileage of ~8k year, which is only £40 more than I paid to insure my Mégane 225 which I have now which seems reasonable. Declaring any mods sends quotes to a minimum of £3500. I don't have the space to keep multiple cars not being a homeowner so having a "daily" and a weekend car isn't really practical. Plus staying at home is cheap and mum does my washing.

So does anyone have any tips on how they keep their quotes down or who they insure with? Do I have to rent a garage, move to the countryside, magically become older, buy a cheap daily to limit usage of a modded car? I assume not declaring mods isnt a wise choice. Any words of advice are welcome. Cheers!
 
HOBO4LIFE said:
£850 is peanuts, will be 21 soon and 2 years of no claims and getting £2k quotes for my 328i
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That's rough. Good luck with that, occasionally you can find a deal but you just have to keep looking. I have both my parents and an older brother on the policy as named drivers which dropped it like £200.
 
Get an online quote with no mods then call up and ask for a quote with mods. Normally makes it only slightly more expensive for me
 
I don't have an extensive list of mods so can't comment on highly modified vehicles (in which case you would be best using a specialist broker anyway) but generally more mods will make it more expensive because the insurance company will see it as adding value to your car. However, a mate of mine actually got his quote reduced by adding a roll cage but in general this is not the case.

Admiral are decent for young drivers but I've heard good reports from Greenlight too. Fortunately, my insurance has been cheap so for my past renewals; it helps when you live in the countryside, have a low annual mileage and drive a family car (4 door Toyota ;))
 
Going for something like a 200sx is probably your first mistake, insurers now know these are sideways around roundabouts and a very how shall i put it. "playful" car. i was driving a jzx100 at 21 and it went down on my insurance as a toyota saloon, all mods delcared was around 1500 a year. so that was, wheels, coilovers, bucket seat, bodykit, etc etc just the bog standard things we do, no major engine mods etc, but my advice would be argue it, ask them why its that much, they told me i was going to have to pay 4k for my insurance, but after a 3 hour phone call and telling them to shove their quote up their arse so to speak they eventually spoke to the underwriters and lowered it a dramatic amount.

Give Adrian flux/Sky/Greenlight a call and ask them for a quote on the car as stock (be lucky to find a stock one nowdays) and then say if i did this this and this how would it affect my insurance. ive done this recently on a 330d that ive bought and all the standard things ive just spoken about only add around 100 quid onto my yearly premium and ive got 7 years no claims now.

Just test your luck and if needs be tell them you've been quoted x amount elsewhere but ideally want to go with x company because you've heard good reviews but the only thing putting you off is price.
 
If you think you're gunna buy a 200sx and smash 8k miles a year and commute daily in it you wanna think twice. They're old, they break, often.

Don't trust a car like that to get you to and from work, you won't be employed for very long.
 
My insurance was £1300 with all mods declared (nothing engine related) with 1 years no claims and my second year of driving with Adrian Flux. Then it went down to £700 the next year

Modifications declared were things like coilovers, diff, seats, harnesses, steering wheel, removal of seats ect

Just keep trying
 
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The quotes you are getting are really cheap for what your trying to insure tbh.
As others have already said Adrian Flux are top. Admiral are also reasonable, adding mods to my car didn't affect the quote as long as they are not "Power Adders" and its not lowered more than 50mm...
As Mrodoc said, bending the truth about other quotes will also help you out.
If you can, add your nan, your dad, your mrs, whoever to the policy as that will also probably lower it.
Or, if you happen to not be the main user of the car, and someone else uses the car more than you, your mum for example, you can also get cheaper insurance if she insures it as her car, and you drive it as a "Named Driver" because you are not the main driver... Food for thought.
 
Yea I can't see his mum being the main driver of an S-body on coilovers with a welded diff to be honest.
 
r3k1355 said:
Yea I can't see his mum being the main driver of an S-body on coilovers with a welded diff to be honest.
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My dad drove the 540 more then I did last year, and that's a fully stripped death trap with a welded diff, straight pipe, coilovers, bucket seats and half cage...
Also meant insurance was stupid cheap because he was the main driver.
Just saying, if it happens to be a circumstance you have, it is really good for cutting insurance prices. Was about 1/2 the price with him as main driver rather than me.
 
i agree 850 is cheap for your age and the car , I use adrian flux its always the best price by miles ,
all mods declared is usually cheaper than no mods . for me atleast anyway.

also tell them that your part of a car club, my theory is that car enthusiasts value their cars more so drive more carefully than someone whos just been handed something on finance or some cheap deathtrap that gets constantly ragged
 
I've daily driven an S13 for 2 years with regular trips to Wales and back to visit family. In that time I have put nearly 25k on the car...

...that being said it is a battle of wills. The car has only ever left me stranded once when the alternator packed in on the motorway. I never leave without a tool bag in the back and last weekend I pulled the 141k engine and gearbox and replaced with a 50k unit. These cars are fun to drive, but you WILL have to maintain them and be able to recognise the smallest issues as they arise before they turn into big ones.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't daily drive your 13, just be aware of what you're getting yourself into especially if you're not putting in the wrench time yourself.

P.S I insure through Brentacre. They're the tits
 
Give Sky insurance a call, I couldn't get a price of lower than £1500 a year for a standard S15 through a comparison website and gave sky a call, mods declared and commuting and an agreed value for £600ish, I'm 25 with 7 years NCD
 
I'm hoping to buy something jap within the next year but while I scrape together the magic beans to buy one I wanted to see how much insurance would be so I can factor in all the costs.
 
Get yourself on Adultwork lad. Pleanty bears and powertops looking for a sub.. you'll be insuring AMG merc's in no time - just factor in a good supply of vaseline and wee donut cushion as your arse might be tender for a few months :thumbs:
 
get something rare, less chance of some idiot having crashed one in the past .
a cresta, laurel, mark2. you mention skyline or chaser and the insurance people tend to shit the bed
 
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