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!

Hmm, I've had nothing but the best experience with GEICO, if I'm honest, lol.

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.

So it sounds like if someone steals your wheels, you'll be SOA. Still, starting to sound like I shouldn't bother with it. If someone else hits me, everything is fine (which makes sense), and I just have to not be dumb enough to crash my own car, in which case I deserve to pay for new parts. And if my wheels get stolen, my car came with the STi wheels, so I'd imagine I'd get at least SOME decent value for them which would help offset the difference.

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.

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.

I don't intend to get a cent back from this car. I intend to drive it into the ground. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to protect my investment if it makes financial sense to do so. Otherwise I wouldn't have any insurance on the car at all aside from the minimum required by law...

You just answered your question right there.

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.

I don't see the logic in your argument. Just because I don't expect to get the value back from the car when I'm done with it, doesn't mean I shouldn't bother insuring anything on the car if it's cheap/easy enough. Just because I don't expect to get a cent back from the car doesn't mean it won't matter if $3000 worth of wheels and tires are stolen...

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.