PCP Finance - what can I do to my Polo?

[ben483]

Hi all,
Had my polo since september. It’s a Polo SE and I love it - my first car. I’d now like to start making some modifications to it, what am I allowed to do, as it’s on PCP? Obviously nothing permanent, drilling holes etc but new wheels? Wraps etc.

Any advice much appreciated.
Many thanks

[RichTea]

I've always modified my pcp cars with no issues. Even gave some of the cars back with the mods still on there and they didn't care lol. But keep in mind whatever part you change could void the warranty on certain things

[SRGTD]

What do the terms and conditions of your PCP agreement state in relation to modifications? Some PCP agreements may allow certain modifications but some perhaps don’t. So it’d be worth checking the small print in your finance agreement first before you consider making any changes to see what VWFS’s stance is on mods. They’d probably be OK with removable mods, provided the car is returned to stock if you’re planning on handing it back at the end of the PCP term.

Also bear in mind there may also be possible insurance implications if you modify your car - your insurance policy will include a requirement in the small print to notify your insurer if you make any modifications, and some insurers may charge you an increased premium. Also, some insurers aren’t keen on vinyl wraps because of the additional repair costs involved in the event of an accident (the cost of replacing the vinyl wrap, in addition to cost of repairs and repainting).

Since 2017 it has also been a requirement to inform DVLA if you change the colour of your car by having it vinyl wrapped (not sure if you’d need to do this if you wrap it the same colour - e.g. Matt red vinyl applied to an existing red car).

[stuartrendall]

My car is on PCP, this month I intend on putting new wheels and a Milltek exhaust on it. I intend on buying the car out right after the finance ends so i'm not too bothered, finance company will never know but I will definitely be informing insurance of any mods I do.

[Simonz]

My car is on PCP, this month I intend on putting new wheels and a Milltek exhaust on it. I intend on buying the car out right after the finance ends so i'm not too bothered, finance company will never know but I will definitely be informing insurance of any mods I do.

That seems the right approach, some insurance companies are fine so long as you note it on your policy. A lot depends if you want to keep the car long term beyond the PCP, if it's nicely modified and affordable to run then why not keep it - chopping it in for something new costs a lot of cash , depreciation etc.

[lancslad1985]

I wonder at what point you need to tell your insurers? So say you want to put the German flag VW badge I’ve seen on some GTIs on Instagram on your cars boot, do you have to declare it? What about little things like paddle changes, ie purely cosmetic that aren’t wrapping the car?
I get it for wheel changes, engine recaps, wraps etc, but do you have to tell them about the little things?

[SRGTD]

I wonder at what point you need to tell your insurers? So say you want to put the German flag VW badge I’ve seen on some GTIs on Instagram on your cars boot, do you have to declare it? What about little things like paddle changes, ie purely cosmetic that aren’t wrapping the car?
I get it for wheel changes, engine recaps, wraps etc, but do you have to tell them about the little things?

That’s a good question and I don’t think there’s a simple answer, as individual insurance companies will have their own specific approach to modifications.

The badge example is interesting - I can remember reading an article a few years ago where some insurers considered mods like badges might increase the risk of theft; It probably depends on what the badges are, but say someone rebadged an R-Line as a GTI, then I suppose to the initiated would-be perpetrator looking to help themselves to a car, it might increase the likelihood of that rebadged R-Line being stolen compared to an R-Line with the correct badges fitted. Similarly with cosmetic mods like custom made decals. Although these won’t affect the performance of a car, if a car with custom decals is involved in an accident and the decals need to be re-made / replaced, the cost of vehicle repairs will be more than they would for an equivalent car without the decals.

Some little mods can also be quite expensive; e,g, if someone decides they wants to fit a set of ST2 paddle shifters, you could be looking at a cost of around £200 or quite a bit more more if you want titanium ones (much cheaper alternatives are available though that will work just as well!).

So not declaring your mods does run the risk of invalidating the insurance cover, although in the event of an incident that could result in a claim you’d hope an insurer would take a pragmatic view in relation to what the mods are and whether or not they would have increased the risk of a claim. I don’t think we’ll ever fathom out the logic of insurers, but I’d say that for the sake of making a phone call, it’s always best to check with them if you make - or are planning to make - changes to your car. If they say they didn’t need to know, it’ll have only cost you a few minutes of your time and the cost of a phone call.

[Simonz]

I wonder at what point you need to tell your insurers? So say you want to put the German flag VW badge I’ve seen on some GTIs on Instagram on your cars boot, do you have to declare it? What about little things like paddle changes, ie purely cosmetic that aren’t wrapping the car?
I get it for wheel changes, engine recaps, wraps etc, but do you have to tell them about the little things?

That’s a good question and I don’t think there’s a simple answer, as individual insurance companies will have their own specific approach to modifications.

The badge example is interesting - I can remember reading an article a few years ago where some insurers considered mods like badges might increase the risk of theft; It probably depends on what the badges are, but say someone rebadged an R-Line as a GTI, then I suppose to the initiated would-be perpetrator looking to help themselves to a car, it might increase the likelihood of that rebadged R-Line being stolen compared to an R-Line with the correct badges fitted. Similarly with cosmetic mods like custom made decals. Although these won’t affect the performance of a car, if a car with custom decals is involved in an accident and the decals need to be re-made / replaced, the cost of vehicle repairs will be more than they would for an equivalent car without the decals.

Some little mods can also be quite expensive; e,g, if someone decides they wants to fit a set of ST2 paddle shifters, you could be looking at a cost of around £200 or quite a bit more more if you want titanium ones (much cheaper alternatives are available though that will work just as well!).

Someone declaring your mods does run the risk of invalidating the insurance cover, although in the event of an incident that could result in a claim you’d hope an insurer would take a pragmatic view in relation to what the mods are and whether or not they would have increased the risk of a claim. I don’t think we’ll ever fathom out the logic of insurers, but I’d say that for the sake of making a phone call, it’s always best to check with them if you make - or are planning to make - changes to your car. If they say they didn’t need to know, it’ll have only cost you a few minutes of your time and the cost of a phone call.

Sound advice - not worth the risk just for the sake of a quick call, even if no increase they can log it on the record. Don't want the situation of a claims assessor wriggling out of liability if they spot anything non standard. Even worse they could prosecute as insurance null and void and in theory driving uninsured?

[ben483]

Thanks all for the replies. What about tuning? I guess that would void the warranty - however it is reversible I assume

[stuartrendall]

Thanks all for the replies. What about tuning? I guess that would void the warranty - however it is reversible I assume

I also plan on tuning my car but I am going to leave it a year or 2 so if the engine has any teething problems the tune won't void any warranty. I'm not really too bothered about warranty myself but since it is PCP I will preserve it as much as possible.

[wayne10244]

With some insurance companies wheels won’t affect your insurance but a milltek Exhaust will as it’s classed as a performance modification. As with pcp wheels won’t cause a problem but the exhaust will. There was a case last year with a bloke who got a YouTube channel LLF with his BMW M4 he did some big mods to his car and BMW got wind of it. They said if you don’t pay the full out standing balance of the car with in 30 they would take the car back off him as it’s a breach of contract. So just be careful of what you want to do.

[Plend]

I've had some insurance companies that would add nominal fees on for stupid things like stickets in the windows, then ther have been others that arent fussed as long as it wasnt making the car unsafe or messing with the performance.
Like has been said its worht the call to find out.

At the same time I've modified every car I've owned and the majority of them were on PCP deal. Although I've never kept a car longer than 2 years so I've never had to worry about handing the car back in a non-standard format, always end up just clearing the finance and trading the car in against something else.