Now i'm going to start by saying i don't want to sound like a whiny little bitch here. I appreciate everything i have and realise how hard some may have it.

But basically I've been on this forum since the day i got my car in october last year, which my parents insured and this i'm very grateful for. I decided early on that as soon as i passed my test there would be a few choice modifications, nothing extreme but enough to make my little shitbox a bit nicer and also to have some fun learning about cars. Once i'd finished paying for my lessons, various tests and retests, i realised running a car was more expensive than i first thought. at least 20 quid on petrol a week, 60 quid on 6 months tax shortly after passing my test, coupled with losing a lot of hours at work meant i could only just afford to run it. I decided to apply for new jobs so i could get going with the car as reading about others was becoming an obsession. It took me almost 6 months to find one, but i finally got offered a new job a month and a half ago, and started 2 weeks ago. I bought some new wheels and started refurbing them, as well as planned beginning to save for a lowering kit next month when i turn 18. then came the mot yesterday, which it cost me 240 quid to get through :(. this was a blow in itself, but worse was what came after. after all the saving, forum browsing, waiting, my dad told me that he would stop paying the insurance if i did anything to my car to remove it from stock specification. i am so gutted and i don't really know what to do with myself now.

sorry for the wall of text but i needed to let out. Anyone else had similar circumstances and how did they deal with it?

tl;dr rents have threatened to stop paying insurance if i modify my car.

Offer to pay the extra to cover the mods on the current policy? Or take out your own policy, that's what I (and most others) had to do. To be honest if I was you i'd just be grateful that they do pay for it, and leave the car standard!

Then don't moddify the car, you can still enjoy it as is surely? Theres plenty you can do to the car without moddifying it.

A lot of people just get enjoyment from learning how to service it themselves and being able to carry out some repair work. There's bound to be things on the car itself that you are not heppy with, if it's a heater not working properly or a creaking parcel shelf. If you want to spend money on it do these sort of things.

I'm sure time will fly buy and with a new job if youre getting the money in soon enough you'll be able to pay your own insurance and even upgrade your car.

Why wouldn't they pay if it's modified? Things like wheels and suspension often don't increase the premium (depending on the company you're with)

you shouldnt be messing with your first car anyways really, personally i say buy a second car to start building now ready for when you get your first years ncb. if you think wheels/coilovers/seats/bumpers etc will all come to around a grand anyways so just save your money and then buy something you can really mess with thats worth while, a low miler 6n, mk3 gt etc. the first car should always stay fairly standard to keep it as cheap as possible.

thanks for the replies. unfortunately the whole reason i want to modify my car a bit is because i have to pay for uni next year and as a result will be stuck with this car for a while. plus a part time job means if i paid for my own insurance i wouldn't earn enough to pay for anything else, including the modifications themselves!

i suppose i've just got to sit and wait it out. highly frustrating though.

Step one: Insure your parents lives,

Step two: Kill your parents,

Step Three: spend the insurance money on solid gold coilovers, some solid gold wires and some diamond plated kerb feelers.

Step four: Pimp as burnouts on their grave.

Step one: Insure your parents lives,

Step two: Kill your parents,

Step Three: spend the insurance money on solid gold coilovers, some solid gold wires and some diamond plated kerb feelers.

Step four: Pimp as burnouts on their grave.

I'm being serious.

Lol if he's struggling to run one car how can he have two!

Tough one fella. Id be tempted to run one years insurance without modding it. Then when your insurance is abit cheaper pay for it yourself.

^^

At rich, not Neil :)

Edited 7 September, 201016 yr by Polio

if you cant afford to mod it, dont mod it! i wish my parents had payed all of my 1st years insurance. tbh i was just mega greatfull they payed half.

you could still do stuff to your car, mk3s arent that run of the mill anymore, so just keeping it looking mint will make it stand out from the crowd. slammed cars on expensive wheels arent the be all and end all.

i remember my 1st car stayed stock for a couple of years bar having a really good stereo and i was happy as larry with it

you could always try and do extra graft to earn enough money to do what you want without having to worry about payouts off mum and dad.

get a full time job, then do uni part time, problem solved.

can't do my course part time.

i didnt mean run 2 cars i meant buy one and keep it of the road and take your time modding it, best of both worlds, plus it means you an put oily parts in the boot from the scrappers without fear of wrecking any interior mods you do.

I've usually got 2 or 3 cars on the go at anyone time but only have one i use daily. everytime I've tried to have a modded car as a daily runner its just more hassle than its worth so if i have a nice car now ill have it as a second car, luckily i can afford to do this and i appreciate that not everyone can but there are ways around everthing.

as an example, i had a early 90's bmw 316 that cost me around the 1200 mark to insure, i also had a early 80's bmw 316 wich cost me 200 to insure. both were fully comp and with just about every addon available. the second car only got used whenever i felt like it so the running costs were minimal, a lot less than having takeaways and going out on the piss all year.

leave it standard and let parents pay for your insurance, while you are doing this start stock piling the mods that you want on your car paying for them with the money you are saving on insurance. then just stick it all on next year when your insurance is a bit cheaper, they may not mind you modding it next year and still cover you? they might just of gotten caught up in the media's belief that as soon as a kid sticks some alloys on their car they will crash it and kill some one? use your first year to prove that you are sensible and that you can be trusted.

Write it off standard to teach them a lesson ?

I'm currently earning a shitty wage form tesco i pay all of my insurance on a 6n which puts me back 173 each month what i did is i bought standard parts but instead of havin boring steelies they are orange with black centrecaps the splitter is gloss black. and so are the badges i de rubstripped it. it makes your car luk different but everytihng is standard so insurance isnt affected.

Wait until you start uni and use your student loan to mod your car? Your parents will never see you anyway when your at uni.. you'll be too high/pissed/shagging/hungover/ill.

In all fairness, why do you want to work your arse off, risk loosing a years insurance off your rent's for a shitbox car as you describe it? Modding is fun, yes, but as you say running a car is expensive, especially at uni, modding it is even more expensive, it's an added cost and usually puts more strain on other parts leading to them breaking and another cost. I wish I never got into it really, spend wayyy too much cash on cars. Not really, I love it.. But imagine all the drugs and hookers you could buy whilst at uni instead of modding cars?

Trust me, your car will get fucked at uni, no matter what, old shitters are the best, smack some cool ass racing stripes down it and make it a funny car, everyone will love it!! You could even hold a drug induced party in your car.. With hookers.

Edited 7 September, 201016 yr by MrP

Man above speaks sense.... My 106 diesel went down a storm and never failed me once.

Wait until you start uni and use your student loan to mod your car? Your parents will never see you anyway when your at uni.. you'll be too high/pissed/shagging/hungover/ill.

In all fairness, why do you want to work your arse off, risk loosing a years insurance off your rent's for a shitbox car as you describe it? Modding is fun, yes, but as you say running a car is expensive, especially at uni, modding it is even more expensive, it's an added cost and usually puts more strain on other parts leading to them breaking and another cost. I wish I never got into it really, spend wayyy too much cash on cars. Not really, I love it.. But imagine all the drugs and hookers you could buy whilst at uni instead of modding cars?

Trust me, your car will get fucked at uni, no matter what, old shitters are the best, smack some cool ass racing stripes down it and make it a funny car, everyone will love it!! You could even hold a drug induced party in your car.. With hookers.

they should build a statue at all universities in your honour!!! Lol

its true dude.. Uni = drugs+sex <---no room in that equation for things like work and modifing cars lol

Keep it standard. Spray some stuff jazzy colours, tint some things. all easy to remove in the event of an accident and make a big differnce imo.

Your parents pay your insurance? That must be really embarrassing.

When i was 17 in 1991 i had to pay £900 for my car plus £600 for my insurance,having already paid £400 getting my licence. I earned £4 an hour.

Bloody student dossers.. Get a job, in-nit!

Won't they even let you lower it?

I paid for my own insurance....I also didnt mod my first car.

Last thing my parents bought for me (Xmas/birthday presents aside) was one of my pet geckos when I was 15!! I'm 22 now and been driving two years! You are very lucky with the insurance as it's big bucks at your age so I would co operate with your folks and do as neil said stock pile bits till you can afford your own insurance! Then think of the likely hood you will get a job after uni in our current climate? Also when your 19 and have 1 year ncb you can use better companies for mods like brentacre etc

my dad was always against me modifying my car but at the end of the day I bout it and then I did it all by the book and he tends to help me on bit now instead of just complaining (unless he tries to jack it up and then swears at me coz the cars too loo but in all fairness I think it's the jacks too high!)