Would Grooved Discs On The Front Void My Insurance?

[chaycore]

Hey guys,

As the title says... Im needing to replace the front discs and pads on my 54 plate t-sport. I feel the standard brakes are very poor. However.. on my insurance no mods are allowed. I imagine this would be classed as a modification but im unsure. Dont want to risk invalidating the insurance.

Any advice?

Thanks,

Chay

[Parts-King]

ANY item fitted as an accessory or upgrade to your car will be a mod by definition. Modified from the original specification of the car. Most insurance companies will allow certain modifications, but if your's specifically excludes "Mods" then you cant do it.

Kingo

[chaycore]

thanks for the advice. so any OE spec discs will be fine? its not a performance thing for me, more of a safety issue, the brakes just arent strong enough in my opinion. the brakes in my 04 fiesta worked better!

[Parts-King]

Anything OE is fine, but a non-Toyota disc that is "made to OE specification" may not be. The trouble is, you will never get a definative answer from the insurance company. My advice is to stick to genuine, they do a perfectly good job for everyday use and you are sure not to break any insurance company rules

Kingo

[ballist1x]

what size are Celica front discs out of curiosity?

Anything OE is fine, but a non-Toyota disc that is "made to OE specification" may not be.

it is debatable but the law is that the insurance cannot refuse to pay out in a given circumstance unless the said mod was directly linked to the claim.

for instance, my friend had 17" OZ Super's on his Focus 1.6 silver, and he crashed into some car or other. the insurance werent happy about the claim as he had not disclosed the wheels prior on his policy.

They had to pay out for the damage to said cars, as the wheels themselves had no bearing on the actual incident but obviously they would not pay out on the wheels if they had become buckled/broken as a result of the crash.

IF on the other hand the car had been trashed, bricked up and wheels stolen, (and the insurance somehow found out that the wheels were not disclosed non o/e versions) then they could have had grounds to void the policy and NOT pay out in this instance as the non disclosed part could have arguably been at fault or directly involved in creating the incident in the first place....

Anything OE is fine, but a non-Toyota disc that is "made to OE specification" may not be.

IF you think about it, any car taken to any other garage than Toyota or the Original dealership for a service would therefore be invalid for insurance purposes IF you did have to stick strictly to genuine oe parts...the ins companies would just cite the service history of all cars and refuse to pay out unless it had 100% dealer history or proof that oe parts were purchased privately and work done independantly..

im not picking on parts king here, but that is really the kind of message that a toyota dealer would give you to instill fear and protect their own business in face of cheaper competition.

[cabcurtains]

If the discs are the same size as the originals and are made to the required standard they should be fine, if not using pattern parts would potentially invalidate insurance.

[nrgizerbunny]

under eu block exemption. you are permitted to fit anything that is to the same or higher spec than the original.

[ricc]

it is debatable but the law is that the insurance cannot refuse to pay out in a given circumstance unless the said mod was directly linked to the claim.

i have paper work and debt from a £28k law suit that says otherwise! without going into detail i crashed, hit a 3rd party, didnt disclose a meshed front grille to insurers thinking it didnt matter. i got ***** raped for it. end of story....

disclose EVERYTHING to your insurers. With Upgrade spec brake discs etc its best as said, to just ring and find out. But make sure you get the name of the person you speak to, date, time and if necessary get them to re-send your paper work with all accepted modifications listed as evidencial proof.

[marty32]

ricc is dead right what he says in tell them everything

i work for an insurance company they are more concerned about mods that increase performance of the vehicle like engine remap, chips, lowered suspension, exhausts etc

if your discs are uprated i cant see that being a problem as potentially your gonna be able to stop the car quciker and safer should you need

id ring them and have a chat

[chaycore]

ricc is dead right what he says in tell them everything

i work for an insurance company they are more concerned about mods that increase performance of the vehicle like engine remap, chips, lowered suspension, exhausts etc

if your discs are uprated i cant see that being a problem as potentially your gonna be able to stop the car quciker and safer should you need

id ring them and have a chat

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'll try call my insurance company tomorrow or monday and let you all know how i get on. Either way, need to replace the discs and pads asap.. the lip on the back side is 3mm and the front side is 2mm

Chay

[choading]

I called Direct Line up about grooved discs and they say it doesn't count as a mod.

[chaycore]

right, an update:

ive called up my insurance company explaining that i would like to change to grooved discs, as i felt the standard discs and pads are not very good in my opinion. they are ok with me fitting the discs and pads! so hopefully next week ill be fitting them :D pics will follow..

chay

[Parts-King]

im not picking on parts king here, but that is really the kind of message that a toyota dealer would give you to instill fear and protect their own business in face of cheaper competition.

Whooahh, hang on a bit. Dont come on here and tell me your not picking on me and then give me "down the banks" for a dealers point of view. I didn't actually say you HAVE to buy genuine parts, but go ahead and fit your grooved discs without the insurance companies authority and you COULD have a problem with a claim if an engineer picks up on it. Insurance is all about "Risk" If you tell them and you have it in writing that the mod is OK with them, great, but all this fannying round with "should" be OK and "I cant see it being a problem" is no good to you when they fail to pay out your claim when you rear end somebody coz you couldnt stop! Pattern parts are exactly what it says on the tin, a pattern of the original, a pattern disc is not a drilled/grooved disc if the original isnt. I have worked in the motor trade for over 30 years and have seen claims rejected because modded parts were fitted, not pattern or direct replacement parts, but modified, uprated, supposidly better spec parts. As Ricc says to his cost, declare EVERYTHING to your insurance company, then when you have it in writing you are covered. I had my motorcycle re-painted in an expensive show paint, and expected to have to pay an extra premium for it, but they were not bothered by it, they wanted a photo of the paint job and that was it. At least if I came to claim, I had it in writing!

Kingo

[Parts-King]

if your discs are uprated i cant see that being a problem as potentially your gonna be able to stop the car quciker and safer should you need

Uprated discs and pads (depending on type) often work far better WHEN UP TO TEMPERATURE. Try stopping quickly when they are cold and you would stop quicker by throwing an anchor out of the window. Uprated is not always better in a normal driving environment, and this is one of the reasons you should stick to standard replacements, UNLESS you have it in writing from your insurers

Kingo