Yuen 16 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Seeing as some of us have done manual swaps... Does anyone know if insurance will consider a manual swap to a factory auto car a modification? Even if factory parts are used for the entire swap thus it would be identical to a factory manual. Or would they just re-class it as having a different transmission? I don't know if there are higher premiums for a manual but I'm assuming it would be less than the premium bump if the car was 'modified'... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huff3r 347 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 I've never had any premium increases for "modifications" on any of my cars, but my current two are both with NAC so im already paying a fortune... As far as it goes, i dont see why they would charge you extra for the modification unless you want it to add value to the vehicle... isnt that the way it normally goes? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yuen 16 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 I suppose it's to do with the modifications increasing the risk of something happening to the car, ie: higher risk of getting stolen, or some statistics showing that people who modify cars drive them faster/more recklessly etc hence having a higher chance of being in an accident. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 178 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Interesting question Yuen. I know when you ring for an insurance quote that they ask if your car is auto or manual. I'm not sure if this affects the premium or not. AFAIK you don't need a cert to swap a car's transmission with another factory transmission so is it really classed as a mod? I'll let the guys who have done swaps chime in here, cos I'm sure they'll know better than me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mark247 38 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Interesting question Yuen. I know when you ring for an insurance quote that they ask if your car is auto or manual. I'm not sure if this affects the premium or not. AFAIK you don't need a cert to swap a car's transmission with another factory transmission so is it really classed as a mod? I'll let the guys who have done swaps chime in here, cos I'm sure they'll know better than me. You dont need a cert if it's a factory gearbox. You probably should just ring and tell them, when my mate converted his e30 to manual he did and they just said "ok," when i converted mine I didnt even bother lol. Probably should of though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westy 614 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Doesn't hurt to tell them Yuen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yuen 16 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Cheers guys. I don't have one yet Tony, but I am looking for a car atm and if they treated it as a modification then I'd want to focus purely on factory manual cars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
R90S 2 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 My understanding is that insurance companies are more concerned with modifications with a performance slant, or make theft more likely. An insurance company is primarily concerned with assessing "risk", so that's why they take an interest in any change to a vehicle which influences their risk calculations whether good or bad. Hence an immobiliser is good, a humungous turbo is bad. Very bad. my $0.02 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
320guy 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 a humungous turbo is bad. Very bad. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 1968 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 You had better check into requiring a cert or not. On a few friends cars (all silvia's), their cert plates do list the Gearbox has been changed to Manual and that it was a Nissan Box it was changed too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yuen 16 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Ok, I will check with the insurance companies and see what they say. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) If it has a cert issued when it is an auto, and then you change it to manual, you have to recert it. Had to do this on mine If no cert is on the car, changing it to manual doesnt require a cert unless the gearbox, controls & mounts are not genuine. Using genuine parts doesnt require a cert. However, I think it would be prudent to let your insurance company know about it. Edited June 11, 2009 by *Glenn* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yuen 16 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 Thanks Glenn. I spoke to State today. According to them, it isn't a modification unless the parts used aren't factory bits. Or if you were swapping from say a 5 speed to a 6 speed it may be a bit of a grey area so ask them first. If it's a standard 5 speed auto to 5 speed manual swap, it needs to be done by a professional and you have to show that factory parts were used (certing was mentioned, though I'm not sure if it means a proper LVV cert or if a statement from the professional who carried the work out will be sufficient). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmarco 56 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 (edited) Without checking in detail, I would suggest that you need to let them know regardless of who has done it, and the type of change. The last thing you want is to find that you fall into some grey area (normally immediately after an accident) and some pedantic assessor decides that because the policy says auto and doesn't match the vehicle perfectly, he will decline your claim. Trust no-one... And especially not an insurance company to look after your best interests in the case there are any questions. Edit: I know I am preaching to the choir on this Edited June 12, 2009 by elmarco Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
