Face lifting

[tinkypot]

Face lifting vs insurance

Hi all,

Just a quick question which I couldn't find from searching...

Does face lifting front and rear light clusters, wing mirrors and wheels effect the price of your insurance premium? Also, what about front and rear bumpers and skirts? (I can imagine that will.)

I want to stretch to a preface lift W220 (probably 2000-2002) in October, but I'm wondering if I do the whole face lift thing will my already expensive premium go up... even though it's all genuine MB equipment?


Cheers guys/girls,
Alex

 

[jeremytaylor]

It will probably depend on your insurer. Your small print will say you have to inform them.

Some insurers may take the opportunity to relieve you of more of your hard-earned, some may not. It probably depends on how competitive their premium was to start with.

 

[tinkypot]

Thanks for the reply Jeremy,

Admiral seem to be the only insurer that will insure me on an W220 under £1000, probably due to my age (22). 5 years no claim is definitely a benifit

Admiral gave me a quote for £700ish limited milage with a friend as a named driver which I thought was quite good considering my C240 was £650 this year (went UP £100!).

Will have to look at the small print as I really love the look of the face lifted S-Class' lights, especially in Obsidan(?) black

Alex

 

[KillerHERTZ]

When I had a 'ding' in mine, I borrowed a VIN number from a facelift model to make sure I had the correct bumper fitted, IIRC it was cheaper than the pre-faclift model

 

[Flash]

IMO if going for a pe face lift W220 then all I would do is just update the rear lenses to the face lift ones and that it. I would only change the side skirts/bumpers IF changing to AMG otherwise would leave them alone. The changes were very subtle to the front bumper.

I would instead buy some nice new alloys for the W220 as it is the alloys that make the car and what will get it noticed and not just changing the bumpers/side skirts for slightly modified ones.

I have seen some W220s S320s/430s going as little as £9K…

 

[tinkypot]

When I had a 'ding' in mine, I borrowed a VIN number from a facelift model to make sure I had the correct bumper fitted, IIRC it was cheaper than the pre-faclift model

Really? So all the bits should just be a straight swap, including bumpers?

Once I start I probably won't stop - S500 twin pipes please

It's still 2 months away so I guess I've got time for a bit more research on the subject.

 

[Shude]

What insurance companies are worried about is aftermarket or performance-enhancing mods that might make it more likely that you claim or more expensive if you do.

I've bored an insurance company or two with a list of oem mods but they're usually not interested.

That said, a friend of mine had an accident in a 100% original BMW E30 325 and about 6 months after it was repaired he received a phonecall from the workshop that fixed his car to tell him that his new exhaust had arrived from Germany! The old one was slightly bent so a new one was ordered from the original manufacturer and it took them 6 months to produce it . Can't imagine how much that cost compared to buying a decent aftermarket (not performance) exhaust.

 

[tinkypot]

IMO if going for a pe face lift W220 then all I would do is just update the rear lenses to the face lift ones and that it. I would only change the side skirts/bumpers IF changing to AMG otherwise would leave them alone. The changes were very subtle to the front bumper.

I would instead buy some nice new alloys for the W220 as it is the alloys that make the car and what will get it noticed and not just changing the bumpers/side skirts for slightly modified ones.

I have seen some W220s S320s/430s going as little as £9K…

That's exactly the reason I want to go for it. It's funny how I can now afford a W220, whilst most people still think of them as still being extremely expensive... Thank you W221 And they still look amazing with a nice set of shoes

 

[Flash]

That's exactly the reason I want to go for it. It's funny how I can now afford a W220, whilst most people still think of them as still being extremely expensive... Thank you W221 And they still look amazing with a nice set of shoes

Its alot of a car for the money and yes its the alloys that pretty much set any car off...!

W221 really has hit the residuals on the W220... - Try and go for a 2002 car if you can...

 

[kensalriser]

Keep it the way it is. Interfered with cars never look right and might put off a prospective buyer when you come to sell it. I'd never buy anything modified.

 

[tinkypot]

Its alot of a car for the money and yes its the alloys that pretty much set any car off...!

W221 really has hit the residuals on the W220... - Try and go for a 2002 car if you can...

What happened in 02? Did the facelift model come out mid 03?

Command looks much better in the facelift model and it's widescreen, right?

 

[Rose Chap]

Keep it the way it is. Interfered with cars never look right and might put off a prospective buyer when you come to sell it. I'd never buy anything modified.

I agree with you in principle, but we're talking about OEM modifications here.

Don't think of it as modification in the max power sense, think of it as ticking the options boxes after the car has been made.

 

[Flash]

Keep it the way it is. Interfered with cars never look right and might put off a prospective buyer when you come to sell it. I'd never buy anything modified.

Updating the rear light lenses to the OEM face lift ones (which look better) and set of new MB style alloys will suit the car and not affect the resale value or make the car look any worse...

 

[Flash]

What happened in 02? Did the facelift model come out mid 03?

Command looks much better in the facelift model and it's widescreen, right?

Known problems/glitches were supposed to have been "ironed" out and fixed. Early car were quite problematic.

 

[kensalriser]

Don't quite agree with that. It's not the same as retrofitting options available at the time of purchase. The VIN number will record the car as a pre-facelift - and whether later mods look better is a matter of opinion.

I will freely admit that I'm a originalist fanatic, though! I even had my licence plate restored to the original because I didn't like the fact it had been assigned a random age-related plate after a cherished plate change.

 

[Shude]

Don't quite agree with that. It's not the same as retrofitting options available at the time of purchase. The VIN number will record the car as a pre-facelift - and whether later mods look better is a matter of opinion.

I will freely admit that I'm a originalist fanatic, though! I even had my licence plate restored to the original because I didn't like the fact it had been assigned a random age-related plate after a cherished plate change.

The facelift parts may actually ease the sale of a vehicle, bearing in mind that 99% of people won't be able to tell the difference and those with a casual knowledge might recognise that it has been facelifted either by the factory or at some point after that. If you're worried about it you could always swap back to the original parts and sell the mods separately if or when you come to sell the car.

I'd not always trust the EPC/datacard using the VIN, there are so many variables and so many minor facelifts (each model year comes with differences) that not even your parts dept will be able to tell the difference in a lot of cases! Plus some pre-facelift models were sold/registered AFTER the facelift was introduced thus confusing everyone!

 

[BTB 500]

As Jeremy said, you definitely need to check with your insurer (and be prepared to move to another one if necessary). Direct Line increased the premium and excess on my SL because it had 17" (M-B) wheels on, rather than the factory standard 16". Yet others have notified the same company of 'mods' and no charge ... must depend on what phase of the moon or something!

 

[Shude]

Yet others have notified the same company of 'mods' and no charge ... must depend on what phase of the moon or something!

We're back to the old story about insuring options really. Effectively, if you didn't declare your car's factory options when you insured it then they're not insured.

Had your comand unit stolen? You might only get £300 because that's the maximum your insurer will pay out for in car entertainment. Check the fine print!

 

[stats007]

Don't quite agree with that. It's not the same as retrofitting options available at the time of purchase. The VIN number will record the car as a pre-facelift - and whether later mods look better is a matter of opinion.

I will freely admit that I'm a originalist fanatic, though! I even had my licence plate restored to the original because I didn't like the fact it had been assigned a random age-related plate after a cherished plate change.

I'm with you here - I don't see the point of fiddling with cars to look newer. If you want a facelifted car buy one - investing more time and money into something you're not happy with just means you'll be stuck with it for longer. The 'facelift' if you do it will probably get boring after a few months anyway.

 

[kensalriser]

Agreed. Cheaper and easier to buy what you want first time around!