Originality is key, How far is too far?

Heritage Insurance examine the options, is it a matter of taste?

Everyone knows the saying ‘each to their own’, and rightly so, not everyone will always agree on the same thing, so when it comes to modifying your classic car to your taste, how far is too far?

Well, when it comes to classic cars, keeping it as original as possible is one of the best ways to ensure its value is retained. For many classic car enthusiasts, this originality goes a long way and can also help when securing an agreed value on your classic car insurance as well. It is also pretty important if you class your vehicle as a long term investment. Although not all enthusiasts would agree and there are thousands of modified classic vehicles out there to prove this along with different classic car scenes some of which encourage modifications to help get the right look.

Now modifications come in all shapes and sizes and it can be one thing to upgrade your classic car, for example switching from 6V to 12V power or fitting better brakes; and another thing to fit a completely different engine and alter the bodywork. At the end of the day it’s your car and so is your choice and there is clearly a market for all types of classic cars standard and modified.

Modifications and insurance

If you are thinking about modifying your classic car, what are the implications when it comes to your insurance?

This depends on how many and what type of modifications you decide to make. Many minor alterations may not make much of a difference to your classic insurance premium although each insurance company will have their own way of dealing with modifications. For example, changing your wheels for a set of alloys may result in no change in premium were as if you upgrade your engine, this can result in an increase in the price you pay for cover and an excess increase from the standard £100 to £150.

Another example would be upgrading your brakes should cost no more insurance premium but changing the colour of your car could also mean an increased premium and excess.

Modifying your classic car can be a way of getting the most out of it, in many ways it can be seen as an improvement to the original and may improve the way it drives or how safe it is on the roads today. Others may feel that authenticity is more important and keeping things the standard is how it was meant to be when it left the factory. It’s a good job we are all different otherwise every classic car would look the same and we would have nothing to talk about. As you can see it really is a matter of taste.

At Heritage Classic Car Insurance we cover modified and standard classics, give us a call today for a quotation on your classic car on 0121 248 9229.