Crashed with after market wheels - what will Audi say?

[silverlogic]

Howdo folks the weather finally got me and i skidded on black ice and slush into a kerb. Audi Assist came to have a look and said the front left wheel is out by 5degrees thus the ESP is flashing permanently and the trackrod arm is bent. He said the steering rack could also have gone but wouldnt like to say.

Anywaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, I have 19" OEM RS6's and they say i shouldnt have them on as it may effect the handling. I've not had a problem ever with the handling and i had it all laser aligned when i put them on.

My fear is will they refuse to do it or will they notify them insurance company thus invalidating it if I ask them to sort it on insurance. No i was stupid and didnt tell them. They want £99 to look at it and laser align it next week so they can tell exactly what the damage is.

Any advice or experience welcome
cheers

 

[smudge_don]

If you dont have your wheels declared mate, you get what you deserve in my opinion

If you had crashed into someone, rather than the kerb, your insurance would be void and you could be arrested

 

[jb0o]

Heres my experience from 2 claims:

"Aftermarket wheels? Whats that.. I bought the car like that on Autotrader"

 

[Spin140]

Unless you are claiming thorough Audi insurance I can't see why they would mention it, their job is to estimate repairs and in the current climate most places need the work, you will probably have to replace the front wheel & tyre yourself though.

Ask to speak to the workshop manager or whomever is liasing with the insurance comapny and ask them direct, what have you got to lose ?

Then once the car is repaired go back to standard or declare the alloys, not worth the hassle for the sake of £50 on top of your premium.

 

[TAC]

Heres my experience from 2 claims:

"Aftermarket wheels? Whats that.. I bought the car like that on Autotrader"

The insurance will then chase through the seller you purchased from if not the previous owner. If you don't declare it I have to agree with smudge_don, too many people out there no1 without insurance let alone undeclared mods.... Ask yourself was it worth it not telling the insurance company for the sake of £50 or so???

 

[jb0o]

The insurance will then chase through the seller you purchased from if not the previous owner. If you don't declare it I have to agree with smudge_don, too many people out there no1 without insurance let alone undeclared mods.... Ask yourself was it worth it not telling the insurance company for the sake of £50 or so???

I don't at all condone it, but it is a way out. Insurance companies more than likely wont go to the bother of finding the previous owner who fitting the aftermarket wheels.

I did it, and the only thing that didn't make me feel guilty doing it was that I was forking out £2,300 a year on insurance for a £2000 car with 65 horses.

 

[RAPS3]

Aftermarket wheels - you say, No they're Audi ones - it says so on the centre cap.

Some people dont even know where the engine is or where to put oil etc, how are they supposed to know what wheels are standard and what are optional.

But.....thats one of the compounding issues why some have to pay £2300 for insurance.

 

[S3EDDIE]

I've been told that if you don't declare something the insurance company will pay out but they will deduct the amount that your insurance would have put your premium up by when you notified them. For example your premium is £500, you write your car off and they will pay out £5000, they see you wheels and it would have put your pemium up to £575, they would pay out £4925 instead.

I'm not dead sure about this (plus it might not be the procedure for all insurance companies) but I got told by a reliable source from a big bodyshop that I sell parts to.

 

[RAPS3]

Suppose it would depend on whether the mod was deemed to have aided in the accident or theft.

If you had aftermarket wheels that made your car more attractive

If you had uprated suspension that aided your cars handling and you were driving quicker than you would have if standard etc etc

One thing is for sure though if they can riggle out of paying out over a technicality then I'm sure they would.

As said above why take the risk for a few ££'s. When the loss would be much greater.

 

[DaveS3Turbo]

They aren't aftermarket wheels. That's bobbins, they are audi wheels. It would only be the same if you spec'd some different wheels from audi. No difference in your case!!!! Aslong as your cars value is correct overall that's all that matters really.

 

[V6Pete]

They aren't aftermarket wheels. That's bobbins, they are audi wheels. It would only be the same if you spec'd some different wheels from audi. No difference in your case!!!! Aslong as your cars value is correct overall that's all that matters really.

Technically that's wrong though.

Any wheels that were not fitted to your car when new is considered a modification. This is even the case with factory fit options, although in this case they're unlikely to be bothered if not declared.

When taking out your policy, you're asked to declare any modifications, and if not, you confirm your car to be standard. If that's not the case, then the insurance company is entitled to consider your policy cancelled.

 

[silverlogic]

Cheers for the replies and opinions. I'm there tomorrow so will update you what happens either way then