Car insurance for a remapped Audi S3...

[KentKid]

Hi there,

I currently own a standard Audi S3 (8P), but I'm looking to get it remapped in the next month or so.

I've been reading through a lot of the discussions on this forum, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for the Revo Stage 2+ remap.

I phoned my current car insurance provider (Bell Direct) yesterday to see how much of a difference remapping my car would make to my annual car insurance premium, but apparently Bell won't insure remapped cars.

With this in mind, and knowing a lot of you are running remapped cars, can you recommend a good car insurance company that will insure a remapped car?

I realise remapping the car will make it more expensive to insure, but I don't want to have to pay a ridiculous amount to get it insured either. That said, I would ideally like to go through a well known and highly regarded insurance company, if any of the big name insurers will provide cover for a remapped car?

Thanks for you help,

Dan (KentKid)

 

[gordongecko]

Run some quotes through the car insurance comparison sites - confused.com, comparethemarket.com etc, they all have options you can tick including ECU remap (I remember the options were a) more than 10% power increase and b) less than 10% power increase). I am with Admiral and declared all mods and it increased the premium a bit but was manageable. Check out the insurance sub-forum for some recommendations for other mod friendly insurers (Sky insurance? AdrianFlux?), typically they wont be on the comparison sites so you will need to call those guys direct

 

[MartayMcFly]

I'm pretty sure Bell is part of Admiral (who I'm with) and they were fine with my car being remapped. Gordon is right though, get on confused.com and tick the box for power increase >11%, or 11-25% etc and get a quote that includes the tuning.

 

[Boydie]

I am with Greenlight Insurance for my second year with my S3 and they have been the best by far.

Only wanted £65 extra when I told them about the RS4 valve, HPFP and 2+ remap!

 

[S3Alex]

Another for Greenlight here.

Very reasonable quotes and minimal increases with each power hike.

 

[skyinsurance]

Feel free to give us a try, link below:

Car Club Insurance Scheme from Sky Insurance

 

[S3Alex]

Feel free to give us a try, link below:

Car Club Insurance Scheme from Sky Insurance

On heavily modified cars?

 

[essIII]

Another for Greenlight here.

Very reasonable quotes and minimal increases with each power hike.

Ditto - excellent initial price - charged me an Admin fee when I went to stage 1 and since then they've not charged me anything extra when I added TBE, CAI, Springs & Dampers, BBS wheels, Stage 2 map......

 

[Boydie]

Lucky you lol £25 a pop for me

 

[S3Alex]

Ditto - excellent initial price - charged me an Admin fee when I went to stage 1 and since then they've not charged me anything extra when I added TBE, CAI, Springs & Dampers, BBS wheels, Stage 2 map......

Charged me about £50 for 100bhp which wasn't bad at all starting from Stg2+.

 

[KentKid]

I'm pretty sure Bell is part of Admiral (who I'm with) and they were fine with my car being remapped. Gordon is right though, get on confused.com and tick the box for power increase >11%, or 11-25% etc and get a quote that includes the tuning.

Yeah, I think Bell/Admiral/Elephant all fall under the same parent company.

I tried calling them again to double-check, and it was the same outcome. As soon as the word 'remap' was mentioned it was an instant decline. The girl on the phone did mention power hikes of 0 to 10%, 11 to 25%, and 26% above, but that was just for chipping, not remapping.

 

[KentKid]

Thanks for all the advice by the way, very much appreciated...

 

[essIII]

Lucky you lol £25 a pop for me

I think I've been lucky that my modification sprees have always been within a month or two of renewal, so they've waived the Admin fees - cracking customer service so far.

 

[KentKid]

So Greenlight sound like they're certainly worth a try. I'm going to give them a call and see how I get on.

Thanks again everyone...

 

[gordongecko]

Yeah, I think Bell/Admiral/Elephant all fall under the same parent company.

I tried calling them again to double-check, and it was the same outcome. As soon as the word 'remap' was mentioned it was an instant decline. The girl on the phone did mention power hikes of 0 to 10%, 11 to 25%, and 26% above, but that was just for chipping, not remapping.

"Chipping" is just another word for "remapping" as far as I know mate. It's just in the past they would solder a new chip on I believe, now it's software based so it's called remapping. Call them back and tell them you are getting/have got the car chipped and tell them the power increase and you are set

 

[MartayMcFly]

Didn't think insurance would differentiate between the two - chipping is just the older version of remapping (when you actually had to buy a new ECU chip with a different map on it). Some cars do still need chipped rather than mapped, but I'm not sure anyone has a chipped S3!

 

[KentKid]

Didn't think insurance would differentiate between the two - chipping is just the older version of remapping (when you actually had to buy a new ECU chip with a different map on it). Some cars do still need chipped rather than mapped, but I'm not sure anyone has a chipped S3!

I thought chipping is something that tuners use to boost the bhp for non-turbo charged cars? I thought it was just another method of achieving the same thing, via a different process?

Either way, I've now phoned up Bell Direct twice for a quote and I've been declined both times - on the basis that they don't insure remapped cars. I guess I could call them again and base my quote on a chip modification, but something about the way they've told me they don't insure remapped cars has made me a bit wary...

 

[S3Alex]

I thought chipping is something that tuners use to boost the bhp for non-turbo charged cars? I thought it was just another method of achieving the same thing, via a different process?Either way, I've now phoned up Bell Direct twice for a quote and I've been declined both times - on the basis that they don't insure remapped cars. I guess I could call them again and base my quote on a chip modification, but something about the way they've told me they don't insure remapped cars has made me a bit wary...

Chipping is the old equivalent of remapping from the days before serial ports etc,and involved replacing the car's existing ECU ROM with one with a different set of instructions and mapping on it,and as such insurance companies will see it in exactly the same way as a remap.
Give Greenlight a call,as they ONLY deal with modified cars.

 

[MartayMcFly]

Different process, same result. I'm just not sure why they would insure chipped cars but not mapped ones. Maybe try Admiral, instead of Bell (although they're the same company, they seem to have slightly different policies). Or, call Greenlight and see if they care about chipped vs remapped.

 

[KentKid]

Yeah, I would have thought that it wouldn't matter to them whether it was chipping or remapping, as they both ultimately achieve the same thing.

As per the previous suggestions, I'm going to give Greenlight a holler. I was hoping to do so today, but I haven't had the chance...

 

[KentKid]

Hi all,

Just a quick one to say thanks to all of you that recommended Greenlight car insurance.

I cancelled my current policy with Bell Direct, and took up the new policy with Greenlight over the weekend – after ‘finally’ getting my S3 remapped.

Also – MASSIVE THANKS to S3Alex for all of the brilliant help and advice with regards to my options.

I had a totally standard S3 up until Saturday, and I now have a Revo 2+ S3 - courtesy of the very helpful guys over at AMD, Essex.

Thanks again everyone, your knowledge and advice is very much appreciated!

Dan

 

[Reload]

Standard straight to 2+??

Congrats, that must be a fantastic jump in performance, I noticed stock to stage 1.

 

[S3Alex]

Hi all, Just a quick one to say thanks to all of you that recommended Greenlight car insurance. I cancelled my current policy with Bell Direct, and took up the new policy with Greenlight over the weekend – after ‘finally’ getting my S3 remapped. Also – MASSIVE THANKS to S3Alex for all of the brilliant help and advice with regards to my options. I had a totally standard S3 up until Saturday, and I now have a Revo 2+ S3 - courtesy of the very helpful guys over at AMD, Essex. Thanks again everyone, your knowledge and advice is very much appreciated! Dan

Hi Dan...it's been a pleasure and I hope you'll enjoy it.
AMDTuning (or AMD Essex as they were known) have done some fantastic work on mine,so I'm pleased you've had a good time down there.
It's insurance time for me again....£684 from Greenlight again.

 

[Brodster]

WOW.....straight to Stage 2. He's gonna be slightly impressed especially if hes got all the mods to go with it. Look forward to his review after the maps bedded in.

 

[KentKid]

Standard straight to 2+??

Congrats, that must be a fantastic jump in performance, I noticed stock to stage 1.

Yeah, standard straight to 2+.

Here are my figures:

Standard output - 268bhp/265 torque.
Revo 2+ output - 352bhp/358 torque.

I still need to get an uprated FMIC - and when I do - AMD have said they'll be able to remap it more aggressively for me, and that it will be close to 370bhp.

I only live about 25 minutes from AMD, and I took it easy for the first 10 minutes or so... I then put my foot down and it nearly scared the life out of me!

 

[KentKid]

It's insurance time for me again....£684 from Greenlight again.

Hi Alex,

£684? Does that work out as £1 per BHP? ;-)

 

[KentKid]

WOW.....straight to Stage 2. He's gonna be slightly impressed especially if hes got all the mods to go with it. Look forward to his review after the maps bedded in.

Hi Brodster, here's what I got fitted:

Revo Stage 2+ Remap
Revo SPS+ Switch
Resonated Milltek Turbo Back Exhaust System (Special Tailpipes)
ITG Cold Air Induction Kit
Autotech Uprated Fuel Pump
KW Suspension Kit (KW Variant 1 inox-line)

I’m aiming to get the FMIC in the next couple of months - possibly Airtec? - and then I’ll deal with the Clutch and Brakes later on in the year/possibly next year.

 

[S3Alex]

Hi Alex,£684? Does that work out as £1 per BHP? ;-)

In pounds per bhp,that's almost right.....about £1.30 at the moment,but it may go down a bit soon,when this year's round of parts start appearing.

 

[KentKid]

In pounds per bhp,that's almost right.....about £1.30 at the moment,but it may go down a bit soon,when this year's round of parts start appearing.

That's some serious power right there...

 

[S3Alex]

That's some serious power right there...

And some serious wallet action.

I try to spread it a bit and keep a few projects for each year.

This years ones will be fun.

 

[KentKid]

And some serious wallet action.

I try to spread it a bit and keep a few projects for each year.

I enquired about the Revo Stage 3 upgrade (just for reference), and was told it would cost circa £5000 all in.

I can only imagine what a Stage 4 or 5 would cost! Frightening...

 

[S3Alex]

I enquired about the Revo Stage 3 upgrade (just for reference), and was told it would cost circa £5000 all in.I can only imagine what a Stage 4 or 5 would cost! Frightening...

Thankfully there isn't a Stg5,but I would say double the initial "investment" for Stg3 and a bit extra to get you to Stg4,and then you have the dwindling number of insurers willing to take you on to contend with,but Greenlight have once agin done me proud.

 

[KentKid]

Thankfully there isn't a Stg5,but I would say double the initial "investment" for Stg3 and a bit extra to get you to Stg4,and then you have the dwindling number of insurers willing to take you on to contend with,but Greenlight have once agin done me proud.

Yeah, I imagine finding insurers for such a heavily modified car must be pretty tough.

With those prices, I think it's safe to say my S3 won't be seeing a Stage 4 upgrade at any time soon!

One day...

 

[S3Alex]

Yeah, I imagine finding insurers for such a heavily modified car must be pretty tough.With those prices, I think it's safe to say my S3 won't be seeing a Stage 4 upgrade at any time soon!One day...

I think that for the power etc,the quote was actually pretty good,and way less than it was on Cosworths at the peak of their fame(or infamy),as my worst quote then was £2k.
Luckily things have changed,plus I'm older now,and £1.30/bhp is a whole lot better than nearly £5/bhp.