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Do you insure aftermarket parts?
Hey guys. So this is the first car I've owned where I'm putting some legitimately nice aftermarket parts on the car, and I'm starting to wonder what I should be doing from an insurance standpoint. I suppose most things, such as coilovers, can't be stolen, but they can be damaged in a collision. My wheels CAN be stolen, which is my biggest worry.
Do you guys have your aftermarket wheels covered by your insurance policy? Do you add other parts too? Or do you not, and just hope nothing bad happens? Not really sure what the best option is. GEICO already told me it would be an extra $10-15/mo to insure my wheels. I've also read that sometimes other mods such as coilovers, and other suspension components, can cause them to drop you entirely. |
Hey Stang,
First off I love your car! I wish I could get a Series Blue but I will probably have to settle with a HyperBlue. I actually am with Geico as well and own a 2013 Scion tC Release Series 8.0 where I put aftermarket wheels on, OEM Audio+ system, Spec D head and tail lights, amongst other things. Well long story short, I was T boned and my passenger door speakers were damaged along with both of my Five Axis SF7 wheels on that side and none of these were aftermarket parts were insured and Geico is replacing all of it no questions asked. Now I know this is a little different than what your asking since your speaking about theft but just figured I'd help where I could. |
Haha, thanks! Hyperblue is nice too! It's not like you won't put different wheels on anyway :P
That's interesting. I would think they would only replace stuff with OEM equipment, as technically that is what you are insured for. Or at least cut you a check for the value of the OEM equipment and leave you to make up the difference. Very interesting that they're covering all of your parts without any questions! |
Believe me I was surprised too. However they owe me as much with the trouble I have gone through with this accident. I really wouldn't wish GEICO upon my worst enemy in an accident. I am going to get rid of my tC as soon as I get it back in hopes of getting an 86!
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Hmm, I've had nothing but the best experience with GEICO, if I'm honest, lol.
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when the accident is not your fault, the other insurance will cover your parts, no problem.
When the accident is your fault, is when your insurance will have issue with aftermarket parts if they aren't explicitly insured/declared to the insurance at the time of policy renewal. |
I just dropped ~2.5k on the set up as well even with the great deals I got, so I'm wondering the same thing.
But our series blue wheels (retail) is about 1700 at the dealership, so it's not like Geico wouldn't have to pay that much to buy our wheels back anyway. |
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Let a coworker drive, had about $12.5k in parts. Was able to save roughly $5k when I stripped it (which was illegal since if was still bank owned... Technically they owned it once the accident happened).. Non insured parts. Winded up losing about $7.5k in damaged parts and non recoverables.
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If you are concerned about insurance and getting your money back for your car, you SHOULD NOT be modifying it or buying aftermarket parts in the first place.
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Keep full coverage, drive it to the ground. If you wreck it and loose the aftermarket parts, it wont matter since you don't intend to get a cent back from this car because its not an investment in the first place its an expense. |
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On the topic of wheels, OEM replacements for regular wheels, tires, and TPMS are anywhere between $400-$600 per corner MSRP depending on what they pro-rate your tires to at the time of the theft.
Assuming a $500 dollar deductible, you'll still probably get cut a check for $1100-$1900 dollars. I guess it just depends on what risk you're comfortable with. Assuming they pay out for full-boat OEM replacements at MSRP, you can still get into a set of decent wheels and tires for very little out of pocket. If you're rocking Volks or something similarly spendy, I'd consider the increase in premium for aftermarket parts coverage, but if you're on Enkeis or something more mundane, it's probably not worthwhile. |
I'm on HRE FF15 18X9s with 255/35R18 Michelin PSS tires. I got the set at a good discount, but normally that wheel and tire combo would cost me around $3500 to buy offhand.
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If it helps you sleep at night, then I'd get it. $10 dollars per month isn't the end of the world. I'm not in a high-theft area and my Enkeis cost basically the same as the stockers do at MSRP, so I didn't bother. |
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His scenario: Insurance is available for the parts. He buys it. Parts are damaged. Insurance pays to replace them. Your scenario: He doesn't buy the insurance. Parts are damaged. He has to shell out his own money to replace them. Your scenario just throws away money for no reason. |
I checked with my insurance company and for about $5k in parts the premium increase would be about $20 a year. Pretty damn cheap piece of mind when/if I decide to add anything.
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I have been considering this too as my car is getting rather expensive. Does anyone know if you can add aftermarket parts to your policy under theft only? I'm not very concerned about breaking my own parts but if the car were stolen and not recovered or stripped then I'd be out quite a bit of money
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Just got off the phone with GEICO. I'm a bit apprehensive to mention things like coilovers, because I've heard that once you start playing with suspension, it's possible that they freak out entirely and drop you (or maybe that's just a complete rumor.)
In any event, I now have $2500 worth of wheels covered and it added a whopping $2.16/mo to my payments. Definitely worth it since I live in Chicago, lol. Car is garage parked, but obviously gets street parked in some situations depending on who/where I am visiting. |
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And like was stated, you are sti covered for the cost of the OEM original parts so its not like you won't get a significant chunk money if something is damaged or stolen. |
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For me, I've got a set of used Forgestars. I doubt anybody would try to steal them, especially since I live in an area where that sort of thing is pretty rare, so for me personally it doesn't make sense (not as high a risk and much lower replacement cost). As another Geico subscriber, did you end up broaching the coilover subject with them? Interested minds want to know, lol. :) |
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Do you guys even know what it costs to replace the OEM shocks and struts? It's like $1500 dollars including the top hats.
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As far as security purposes go, do you run locking lug nuts? |
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On an unrelated note, kind of annoyed that the locking nuts don't come with the same free-spinning base as the regular ones, lol. |
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You also might want to check that insurace to see if it even covers curb damage or pothole damage. |
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You don't have to just accept that someone can steal your rims or ram your car on the street when you can buy insurance to hedge against that risk. Insurance has nothing to do with modding. Insurance has to do with managing risk. There's a risk that someone may run a red light and smash your car, so you get uninsured motorist insurance to hedge against that risk. There's a risk your house could burn down, so you get homeowner's insurance to hedge against the financial loss off all your belongings. You have a risk of having to pay for medical coverage if you get sick or injured, so you purchase health insurance to hedge against the risk of going broke from medical bills. You're arguing against hedging against a financial risk to your mods because you don't expect to get anything back from them. Taken to its logical conclusion, your argument means that if we're all gonna die anyway, there's no point in buying health insurance. If you get sick, you might as well just go on and die. Quote:
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shit I'll pay an extra 3 bucks every month (36 bucks yearly) to insure my 2200 wheels + 900 dollar tires (after installation, tpms, etc) in the case that some shit hole hits my car. Granted, the STI wheels would be quoted at 1700 just for the wheels if going through the dealership directly, that's still 500 bucks less than what my wheels are worth.
in 5 years that'd be $180, which is 8% of what I paid for the wheels alone. I don't know about you, but that sounds worth it to me for the peace of mind. |
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