Has anybody been denied an insurance payout, total loss or repair due to illegal mods

[infurNOS]

Anyone?

Any stories to share? I'm curious. Doesn't matter who is at fault.

I have adjustible coilovers (which are apparently illegal) and i would hate to be denied a claim.

How thorough are the insurance assessors?

Can be anywhere, not just SA.

[1996_EK_Civic]

I'm with justcar and they allow coilovers as long as its legal height

[infurNOS]

I'm with justcar and they allow coilovers as long as its legal height

But i thought they cover all mods aslong as they are legal. I have read coilovers are not legal if they are adjustible

[jdm_b16a]

Basically, anything that deviates from "standard" or "OEM" is illegal until such time as it is engineered and approved. And by "engineered" I mean the manufacturer is willing to provide an Australian Standard (AS) certification or similar to say that the product has been tested and meets the standard. Not necessarily going to an Engineer and getting a mod signed off.

You'll notice, for example, many of the aftermarket parts sold in the US carry a "Legal only for off-road use" banner in the small print.

Sounds silly doesn't it, as many people have small mods like coilovers, or, a muffler, or intake, or even steering wheel and gearknob - these are all "illegal" under the recent rule changes until you have them engineered.

One area where I suspect you'd have a lot of trouble with Police, Insurance, is brake upgrades.

Bigger wheels would be another, yet many of the SUVs and utes on the road are all riding on 19s and 20+ with low profile rubber. Not load rated - illegal. Good luck with the insurance claim.

My advice would be to be sensible with your mods and check with your preferred insurer when contemplating further mods.

Peter

[Ðerp]

But i thought they cover all mods aslong as they are legal. I have read coilovers are not legal if they are adjustible

Yeah your are aloud to have Adjustable height Coilovers in SA provided they have a plate that prevents you from going under the legal limit+ an engineers certificate for the plate and after all of that you still need to take it to regency to get the final tick of approval, They can't void your insurance policy Unless The illegal mod was a contributing factor in the claim

[dciisir]

I had a friend back in the days. He crashed his Lancer at Mt Dandenong. He had installed metal pedals in his car. Not sure if they had rubber inserts in them. The insurance company didn't pay him at all. Lucky the car wasn't a right off. He had to buy parts bit by bit and fix the car himself.

[Setanta]

From RAC (words of wisdom):

Be aware of what you can and can not do, as ignorance of the law is not a valid defence. If you modify your vehicle and don't tell your insurance company about the modifications you have made, your insurer may be able to cancel the policy or avoid paying a claim which you make.

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registrati...s_nov_2007.pdf is a good start for what is legal and what isn't, what worries me the most about mods is do they maintain the ADRs of your vehicle. Coilovers for my E30 from BC (non-ADR) involve cutting and welding - ideally requiring an engineer's certificate. If I was in an accident and the struts were damaged, an insurance company "could" (if they so chose) imply that the part failed and because I didn't meet ADRs my insurance is void.

Its one of the reasons I don't mod unless I check the rulebook and I always ring my insurer and keep details of who I spoke to, when I rang and exactly what was said in regards to every mod (right down to wheel nuts ).