Insurance issue: engine has been changed! How to declare it
Discussion
Hi All
We have a Dax Cobra. Which is a kit car... My first question: is how to find an insurer and how to spec the vehicle.
We had it on the road last year - with its original spec of chassis and engine etc. However it broke down, needed money spent on it and so instead of patching up a clapped out engine we replaced the whole thing...
So what went from a 'buy it and patch up' job quickly became a 'full and total overhaul'
The car according to DVLA is based on the chassis and engine I believe (Rover I think but don't have the papers to hand to check!)
We have imported an engine from USA. A V8 Chevvy (I think)
What with the new paint job and new engine, gearbox etc... its a totally new car - on the old chassis.
How do we insure it once its ready to go back not he road and is MOTd?
Will we have issues?
We have photos of all the before and afters... and we need to insure it now for nearer £65k versus the £18k when it was last on the road.
We have all receipts from everything we have bought for it.
I had a hard time finding an insurer last time around as my father wanted to be able to drive it too, and he only holds an EU drivers licence and isn't UK resident. SO it was a HUGE task and a HUGE expense just to get him on there so he could drive it for the 5 days he was over with us!
Any expert advice very very much appreciated!
I cannot imagine we are the first people in this position. Rebuilding a car with new engine and parts that differ from that on the vehicle forms!
Thanks so much
We have a Dax Cobra. Which is a kit car... My first question: is how to find an insurer and how to spec the vehicle.
We had it on the road last year - with its original spec of chassis and engine etc. However it broke down, needed money spent on it and so instead of patching up a clapped out engine we replaced the whole thing...
So what went from a 'buy it and patch up' job quickly became a 'full and total overhaul'
The car according to DVLA is based on the chassis and engine I believe (Rover I think but don't have the papers to hand to check!)
We have imported an engine from USA. A V8 Chevvy (I think)
What with the new paint job and new engine, gearbox etc... its a totally new car - on the old chassis.
How do we insure it once its ready to go back not he road and is MOTd?
Will we have issues?
We have photos of all the before and afters... and we need to insure it now for nearer £65k versus the £18k when it was last on the road.
We have all receipts from everything we have bought for it.
I had a hard time finding an insurer last time around as my father wanted to be able to drive it too, and he only holds an EU drivers licence and isn't UK resident. SO it was a HUGE task and a HUGE expense just to get him on there so he could drive it for the 5 days he was over with us!
Any expert advice very very much appreciated!
I cannot imagine we are the first people in this position. Rebuilding a car with new engine and parts that differ from that on the vehicle forms!
Thanks so much
You'll have to be finding a kit-specialist insurer, and giving them the spec anyway, since there's no such thing as a "standard" kit car - no mainstream insurer's going to be particularly interested (read: competitive) in covering it.
Just make sure the V5C has the engine number and capacity correct.
£65k for a Cobra rep? And you're not even sure if the engine you're importing from the US is a Chev v8 or what?
Just make sure the V5C has the engine number and capacity correct.
£65k for a Cobra rep? And you're not even sure if the engine you're importing from the US is a Chev v8 or what?
Suggest you re-post in Kitcar section. (edit: Note to O/P: your post has been moved to kit car section......)
You will probably need to get a professional valuation, complete with certified invoices for your parts.
As for insurers, the usual suspects eg Osbourne & Sons, Adrian Flux (and others) should be able to provide you with competitive quotes - kit cars (like classics) are usually fairly cheap to insure although £65k declared value for a Cobra replica?
You will probably need to get a professional valuation, complete with certified invoices for your parts.
As for insurers, the usual suspects eg Osbourne & Sons, Adrian Flux (and others) should be able to provide you with competitive quotes - kit cars (like classics) are usually fairly cheap to insure although £65k declared value for a Cobra replica?
Edited by alfaspecial on Tuesday 9th August 18:31
Edited by alfaspecial on Tuesday 9th August 18:32
I have my kit insured with JRBloor.... Like the olden days, you can't go to a search engine like compareyourmeerkat but you have to pick up the phone and ring round.
Re the value, like the posters above, I'd query the £65k valuation too and you may find insurance difficult to achieve that valuation for a rep. That being said, we don't know the rest of the spec, or the actual engine detail
Re the value, like the posters above, I'd query the £65k valuation too and you may find insurance difficult to achieve that valuation for a rep. That being said, we don't know the rest of the spec, or the actual engine detail
Try MSM - http://www.msminsurance.co.uk/personal-insurance/m...
You deal with the man who runs the company and he is very helpful and competitive.
You deal with the man who runs the company and he is very helpful and competitive.
Ok so irrelevant of the value... we won't ever sell it anyway... my point is... initially we insured it for £18-£20k and now its worth much more.
I think it is specified as a Rover on the V5 document.. and clearly we have changed the engine
so how do we change the V5 or re-insure it without it ever being 'under insured' or null and void?
I just want to make sure it is insured for its correct value if anyone crashes in to it or damages it.
my husband spent weeks spraying and polishing the paintwork... so would be utterly heartbroken if it was damaged and then the insurer refused to pay out!
I think it is specified as a Rover on the V5 document.. and clearly we have changed the engine
so how do we change the V5 or re-insure it without it ever being 'under insured' or null and void?
I just want to make sure it is insured for its correct value if anyone crashes in to it or damages it.
my husband spent weeks spraying and polishing the paintwork... so would be utterly heartbroken if it was damaged and then the insurer refused to pay out!
nosha123 said:
Ok so irrelevant of the value... we won't ever sell it anyway... my point is... initially we insured it for £18-£20k and now its worth much more.
Well, it is relevant. The 'value' for insurance purposes, will likely have to be an independent one once you start getting into bigger monetary value...they won't take 'your' value of it based on what you think its worth.So, as you need to change the engine details and probably notify DVLA of a colour change as well(?) it will be best to contact say the Dax owners club (or similar) and get an 'approved for insurance' valuation of the finished vehicle and then take it from there. You may or may not need an engineers report as well for the engine change (?)
nosha123 said:
I think it is specified as a Rover on the V5 document.
Which it fairly obvious isn't, so it's hooky right from the start. Clearly never been IVA'd. When was it built?nosha123 said:
and clearly we have changed the engine
so how do we change the V5
Fill in the new engine number and capacity on the V5C, send it back.so how do we change the V5
nosha123 said:
or re-insure it without it ever being 'under insured' or null and void?
Tell the insurer exactly what it is. A Dax Cobra-rep kitcar, with a <whatever> v8, suspension from <whatever>, etc etc.So our car never needed to be IVAd as on its V5 it is older than +10 years
Now we have kept the chassis and kept the body.. but changed the engine
how many modifications are allowed before it is classed as a different vehicle?
which bits are you allowed to update and change before needing to re IVA it?
Now we have kept the chassis and kept the body.. but changed the engine
how many modifications are allowed before it is classed as a different vehicle?
which bits are you allowed to update and change before needing to re IVA it?
nosha123 said:
So our car never needed to be IVAd as on its V5 it is older than +10 years
That's for import. When the kit was built, it needed to be IVAd/SVAd or whatever the then-current test was, unless it was built before they came in in the late '90s. Was the kit built before then?nosha123 said:
how many modifications are allowed before it is classed as a different vehicle?
which bits are you allowed to update and change before needing to re IVA it?
When the kit was built - https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/kitbuilt-v...which bits are you allowed to update and change before needing to re IVA it?
If you're modifying it post-build - https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/radically-...
Have a read through this... http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic/9017...
Nosh...go to the dax sporting club at http://forum.daxsportingclub.com and ask there, you'll find people there are a bit less...abrasive than certain posters here. The suggestion of bloor for insurance is good
Gassing Station | Kit Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff