Will insurance companies replace aftermarket parts?!?

[MarkEmark]

Hi, now that I've sunk about a grand into my car for parts, I'm wondering how insurance would handle an accident, if, say I was hit from behind and it crushed my tanabe cat-back exhaust. I have full collision coverage...would I just need to show them a receipt of my purchase in order for them to reiumburse me? Anyone have any experience with this? ThanksMarc

[APEXi240]

Some companies will, some won't. Most likely if you have full coverage you will be reimbursed. But if you are hit from behind, it is the other guys fault, and his company has to pay for it.

This kid I know owned a Civic hatchback with a 2000 JDM Type-R motor in it (not a fan, but very nice, and real fast). It got stolen, and he only got the value of the car, and was screwed outta 5k for the motor.

[Unregistered]

Yeah, that's where i'll get screwed. I plan to spend as much on the car as I do on the conversion kit, if I mess up my car... aw man...

[APEXi240]

You can get stuff insured that way, but it'll cost you.

A cop around the corner from me has an all-motor 12 sec, daily driven Civic that he parks out on the street. Needless to say every single peice of that car is insured. When he was runnin 13.5, he said he had everything insured at like 15k. Another kid with a similar setup has everything insured for an 11k value.

God only knows how much they are paying.

[JNM240]

You will definately want to keep the recepits from all the things that you do to "improve" the car. upgraded shocks wont count if the mechanic listed the originals as blown or needing chaning, that will go down as preventitive maintence. As long as you can show that you spent the money to improve the car, not to fix a problem, they should reimburse you. Of course there is always the "depreciation" factor.

Basically i got screwed a few years ago after i wrecked my car. My tokico blues (brand new) were worthless because they replaced blown shocks. My wheels (American Eagle 5 stars, factory size) were worthless because they had "depreciated" beyond their value.

Basically its all how the claims adjuster sees your car. Just keep your receipts.

[MarkEmark]

what if you don't have a reciept, for say, the exhaust. Can't the insurance people see what type of exhaust it is, and that you did indeed pay for it if its on your car and reimburse you? I think that's stupid that if you lost a receipt and get rammed from behind that you won't get reimbursed unless you show the company proof that you paid for the exhaust...isnt the fact that the exhaust is on the car proof enough???

[Sygerwulf]

You have to remember that insurance companies are not out to be fair, they're out to make money lol and they'll find any loophole that they can to not pay what they should.

Insurance is nothing more then a big elephant sausage shoved up your assets. Make sure you keep a reciept for everything you buy lol

[nametakennow]

Basically, you probably have to pay for it unless you have an extremely generous insurance company.

[nametakennow]

Why is stuff getting underlined when I didn't tell it to?

[blink0r]

I like rum with sunny D.

[Bubba]

Telling an insurance company you upgraded your car is a two edged sword if the insurance company will even acknowledge it.The big question is why would you even want to do that in the first place? If you actually convince them that the replacement value of the car is higher than what they base your rates on, you just invited them to raise your rates! I don't believe there's anyone on this bb that is convinced they're not paying enough insurance already. FYI, putting a fancy muffler or intake does not improve the value of your car. That's reality.

[MarkEmark]

It DOES in reality increase the value if you have a buyer that wants an upgraded car, not a stock one. eg, if someone was in to tuning cars and was planning to do so anyway (lucky for us, a LOT of people mod 240's,) then the person is going to pay more for a modded car understanding the value and cost of the added aftermarket parts than just a regular, stock 240...it all depends on the buyer. Yes, a 50 year old women could give 2 ****s about our fancy intake systems, but a 20 year old guy who's into autocrossing would care...What about telling your insurance company that the aftermarket parts make it more reliable and give it better gas mileage...and nothing else. Assuming they don't know much about performance mods, I think this would work. There are ways to beat the system

[Get240DiZzY]

Just make sure to keep your insurance company updated on everything... my friend got into a wreck last week, and he had just updated his policy a month before, so every single molecule of that car was covered... he doesn't have to pay a cent, one of the few times insurance doesn't a$$ screw you so hard you bleed out your mouth. Ewww, mental pictures.

[C-Kwik]

It all depends. Check the wording in your policy. There is no definite answer. Every policy will differ. Even from the same company, policies generally differ from one state to the next and from one company to the next. Some companies even have different policies in the same state. Most policies will state something to the effect that your vehicle and its equipment is covered. Most policies will put limitations on electronic equipment. Some limit the type of equipment, others will both the type and put a dollar limit on it. When it comes to aftermarket equipment, you may find an exclusion that does not cover non-OEM or non-OEM replacement parts. Generally the better companies do not have as many exclusions, but are usually more strict in their underwriting practices so that their exposure to this type of risk is minimal. Most carriers who exclude or put strict limitations usually will endorse aftermarket parts for an extra premium.

As far as the comment about if someone else is liable for your damages, do not rely on this when insuring your vehicle. When you purchase insurance, your best bet is to insure it in terms of what your actual loss could be. For one, you can not be sure that someone else will be liable. And even if they are, there's the chance that the person takes off, is uninsured, or even denies liability. Remember that it is a plaintiff's responsibility to "prove" liability and damages.

As far as value added, usually, aftermarket parts will add a small amount of value depending on the type of mod. But don't expect tp get what you put in. It's not dependent on what you put in, but what value it actually adds to the vehicle, or in other words, what would a reasonable person buy the car for...

[y3llows14]

You can cheat your insurance. When you get your car estimated, put your factory parts on and damage that, Im pretty sure that OEM parts from the dealer will cost more than aftermarket things. If you dont feel like changing it, then they will pay 60% (depends on Insurance company) of your parts value and installation charges. This girl rearended me and I didnt even have a reciept for my muffler, they give me $80 because they went on line and they figure out how much my muffler cost. Thanx to that, I got an N-1. If you had a custom paint, you just tell them and they will fix your parts with your custom paint.