Any modifications a 17 year old first-time driver can have without effecting the insurance?

[ThePandaFan131]

Hello, I am a 17 year old who is wondering what modifications wouldn't effect the insurance.

Thank you, and I am awaiting your response.

 

[bugsymike]

Hello, I am a 17 year old who is wondering what modifications wouldn't effect the insurance.

Thank you, and I am awaiting your response.

Take the hub caps off
Joking apart insurance companies will see anything none standard as a "modification" and a reason to jack the premium up, even a set of nice looking wheels which are certainly not going to reduce your 0-60mph figure.
Most of us have been in your position at that age, realistically though boring, the best advice is to keep your nose down and keep a clean license for a few years to get some no claims bonus.
Insurance premiums are ridiculous these days for youngsters, although logically speaking given that the high risk group is young males below 25 you can see why.
Another bit of advice is if anything is non standard make sure it is written on your insurance policy agreement from them, as if you are involved in an incident you can guarantee anything not declared will be used to invalidate your cover.
Don't get me wrong I certainly did plenty to attract attention and often wonder how I survived, but it was a very long time ago and although insurance was high, it was usually less than the cost of the vehicle unlike today.

 

[rmjbn1]

If it's a 169 Panda you're thinking of...
13" or 14" alloys or steels as long as they're the correct spec with the specified tyres fitted as per owners' manual
Decent tyres
Decent factory spec brakes
Decent dampers

Sorry to be boring, but I'd agree with Mike, any mods will work out very expensive

Good news is the 169 is a lightweight by modern standards at 860kg, and a lot of fun in standard trim

 

[ZaphodB]

See if the ins company offer a discount for black box for a year or two until you get a bit of NCD/experience under your belt, and a bit of a contiguous insurance history.

If you want to add mods you should always notify, some add to the premium , some don't (no rhyme or reason sometimes), but if you speak to them about a mod know they log everything .... and will use any excuse to get out of paying out on claims.
Even asking them about mods can trigger some.

 

[Sylvester22]

Get creative in racing games like NFS or Gran Turismo, but IRL leave the car stock, rather make sure all MOT advisories are sorted.

We've all been there, want to prove to everyone we're the best drivers on the streets, but there's a reasons why insurance is so high for young drivers.
You share the road with a lot of people, among them many families, so safety first, for them and you as well.
If you get more experience on the road, fact is even after 20 years you can learn new things, and still want to modify, take the car to a race track and have a blast there.

 

[The Panda Nut]

When you are just a few years older you will look back on mods done with REGRET. They are good for a day, or a few weeks then you want another. They cost a fortune and dont make the car better, often it makes them worse. Make the car sound and reliable. Big stereos also a nonsense. Firstly its damaging to your ears, itm can get you a ticket too these days. Get a decent radio head unit yes, but dont go mad. Its much like the driving. ANy mug can get into a car and put their foot in the carpet, screetching round. Thereis however satisfaction from learning to be an expert. Spend the money on advanced driver training. Reduce wear and tear, reduce insurance costs, collect less speeding tickets. Use the money you save to buy a newer and better car. I could have bought a brand new Ferrari for what I wasted on mods and pointless swapping vehicles every few months. I would use the money to make sure the car is in perfect mechanical order firstly. Spend the rest on girls! These strage creatures dont seem to be impressed by modfied cars. Most think its stupid!

 

[FiatMatt94]

You could do what I call "smart" minor things to make the car slightly better without it looking any different from stock which is what I've done with pretty much every car I've owned

: BMC air filter element in the standard filter housing which are very effective & make it breathe a little better, it'll still look like a standard Panda & without the horrible noise from cone type filters so a win win

: The 169 Panda has a single box exhaust standard, you could try finding a standard spec exhaust but with an extra silencer so it becomes a twin box exhaust as I've always done this with Classic Mini's & with my Seicento I have put a standard Sporting exhaust on as it doesn't really look any different but I've always found a single box exhaust can be quite restrictive but with an extra silencer it won't look or really sound any different but the car will go more better & smoother overall, it's just about doing "minor tweaks" which wouldn't be questioned if anything happened

 

[portland_bill]

As said above, insurance companies need to know every mod. Whilst many will not increase your risk directly, they give an insight into mindset, which affects risk.
Alloy wheels, even ones that might have been optional when new, can increase the premium.
Winter or all-season tyres generally do not affect premium.
I binned my front foglamps, after one got a hole in it, and replaced with daytime running lights. Insurance company noted, were happy, no premium increase, but in the event of a collision, they would put back to stock, despite costing twice the amount. Daft.

For many years, there was a Peugeot 106 in Swindon that appeared to have very distinctive, and good looking alloy wheels. Once close to, they were home-made trims. I thought they were brilliant. Depends on practical skill levels, and design skills.

 

[Dan at Adrian Flux]

Hi.
If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Yes, more years of NCB!

... and what the others said! Be super careful that anything you do on the car doesn't depart from standard.

Enjoy your driving and go carefully out there.