Insurance... - BMW Forum

mrkbik · 02-10-2005, 10:18 PM

Hey all, I seem to be in a bit of a predicament. I was planninng on buying a '95 325is and modding it out to make it about the same performance as a stock M3 of the same year. The price of the 325 was going to be about 8k and about 5k for all the mods. I know I could just buy a '95 M3 for the same price, around 13k, but I was thinking in terms of insurance cost. I am 18 years old, and I figured M3 insurance was going to be too much for me. Now I realize that insurance companies demand a list of all the modifications to your vehice. So my question to you is this: which insurance cost do you think will be lower, a modded '95 325 or an M3? Also, I figure the cost of the M3 will actually be lower because I will not have to pay all the labor, shipping, and tax on all the mods. What do you all think? Thanks in advance!

jshearer · 02-10-2005, 10:32 PM

You can mod the 325 to be a m3 speed wise or even look like a m3 but if you bought the m3 you could always save money and mod it up to be even faster. I would get the M3. There are other differences between the M3 and the 325 other than speed. I am not sure on all of them so I will let someone who knows fill you in on the exacts.

mrkbik · 02-10-2005, 10:55 PM

Well I was also planning on upgrading the suspension, headers, exhaust and everything to make it as fast and as nimble as an m3. I'm not into making it look like an m3, I think body kits and all are kind of a waste of money. Another reason I was looking into a 325 was because of reliability issues. I figured a 325 would not have been driven as hard and would not have too many reliability/maininence issues to deal with., whereas an m3 would most likely be more of a problem car, especially with upwards of 100,000 miles on it.

mrkbik · 02-10-2005, 10:56 PM

Also, If I was to spend 13k on an m3, I would not be able to put many mods on it for a long time. How does a stock m3 suspension stack up against the suspension I was going to put into the 325: Bilstein Sport shocks and H&R springs?

jshearer · 02-10-2005, 10:59 PM

it all depends. I am not sure but i think the main reason to report mods is to cover them by insurance. You might be able to get away without reporting anything, of course if something happens you will have to keep all the stock stuff to put back on. I have a 325is and my father has a m3, let me tell you the M3 is just nicer. I had the chance to buy it from him or buy mine, and I went for mine 1/2 the price. If you have the money to do all the mods you can make it faster than a stock m3(just so you know), but doing all these mods can;t be good to run constantly on the car. I am not sure but it would seem that pushing every bit of hp out of the engine would wear it down faster than driving on that is stock.

Cruzin 323is · 02-10-2005, 11:52 PM

2 door cars generally cost more (insurence wise)

mrkbik · 02-11-2005, 12:13 AM

Yeah, but The insurance for a 325is would still be less than an M3 sedan wouldn't it?

93 325i · 02-11-2005, 08:23 AM

yes, it would definitely be cheaper. And I never had to tell my ins. co. anything when I did mods. Being 18 I would get the 325is. It will be cheaper to maintain.

BMWBeauty416 · 02-11-2005, 09:32 AM

you have to tell the insurence company your mods IF you want them to insure them - other wise if you get in a wreck it comes out of pocket to fix the mods
so tech you don't HAVE too but if they are going to pay to fix anything that you moded then yes you have too

~*Teg*~

93 325i · 02-11-2005, 09:41 AM

That sounds right, but I did total a modded 318 and I got a nice hefty check over it's book value(Mainly cuz of the $2500 BBS rims). But if say I were to crack the front M3 bumper, then they would only replace with a stock bumper (unless you know the repair shop and get the hook-ups).

Gator · 02-11-2005, 10:43 AM

Why don't you call a couple of insurance companies and ask them for quotes. Tell them about planned mods and see what they say.That's the only way to really get a cost comparison. Also, remember that if you lie to the insurance company thay can and will deny your claim if they find out.

Things to consider: 1. Your 18 and driving a fast car. There is a good chance that you will get into an accident. Remember 100% of the people who total their car didn't think it would happen to them. If the car is modded it will be much more difficult if not impossible to recover the cost of the mods.
2. The resale value of your modded car will be much less than that of a M3.
3. The final cost of the mods will likely be much more than you estimated.

In the final analysis you are probably much better off getting an M3 to start with.

mrkbik · 02-11-2005, 11:39 AM

Thanks for all the advice, I was kind of leaning toward the M3 because it would cost less to buy than the 325. The idea with the 325 though was that if it needed something like a new clutch, transmission, or something, then I could just take it out of the money I had set aside for mods. Now if I spend 13k on an M3, I will have no money left to to any repairs should it need any.

mrkbik · 02-11-2005, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 93 325i@Feb 11 2005, 08:41 AM
That sounds right, but I did total a modded 318 and I got a nice hefty check over it's book value(Mainly cuz of the $2500 BBS rims). But if say I were to crack the front M3 bumper, then they would only replace with a stock bumper (unless you know the repair shop and get the hook-ups).

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Did your insurance cost go up when you told the insurance company what mods you had?

93 325i · 02-11-2005, 12:26 PM

NO it didn't go up because of the mods, but they dropped me anyways because that was my 3rd accident..But I have had many modded cars and never said anything and have always made out..

mrkbik · 02-11-2005, 12:31 PM

Sweeeeeeeeet. I just got off the phone with our insurance company. Looks like the M3 is gonna work out. Thanks for all the advice.