14 replies to this topic

[minisprite2]

what is the biggest engine i can have without insurance getting to stupid i know as a first time it is not cheap but i want somin with a bit of poke and toy to !! surely something like a 1275/1380 is roughly same insurance as 1.2 clios and ford ka 1.3`s ???

question is could i be insured on a 1380 or if not a 1275 ??

[E.L.M.O]

You could be, but it depends on what you want to pay!
If you go for a 1275 (I think you will struggle with a 1380!) then just shop around. Be prepared to pay more than the cars worth for your first year. And why dont you phone up some insurance companies now and get some quotes?

[Heather&Henrietta]

I should agree, you could, but they will sting you even more for insurance considering age, driving experience, and that's without adding money to any mods you might have

[Philly1983]

Just to give you a indication i insured my first car when i was 21, im not 26, it was a 1.0 Seat Arosa worth £1200, TPFT insurance cost me £1300.

You can get insurance for just about anything i suppose, its your budget that will define what you insure though.

Good Luck

[TJenkos]

The problem is that it is classed as an engine change - a modification for speed! The only thing you can do is ring up and ask. Tried Footman James?

I insured my 1.8T Seat Ibiza Cupra at 18.. That cost me £1700.

[E.L.M.O]

I understand the urge to want to jump into the driving experience with both feet and to by-pass the tedious years of a standard underpowered car.

There are reasons behind why so many younger/first time drivers drive these standard underpowered cars. Most drivers want more power, but they know that they need to put in the tedious years first. Its not because they want to, its because they have to. You need to demonstrate you can handle a car first and that you are responsible before an isurance company will consider taking a risk on you by providing you with cover.

You know that it is common place for first time drivers to drive underpowered cars. And the reasons behind it are obvious.

I doubt the insurance companies will want to touch you. They know that its common sense to gain driving experience before a driver should be near a modified car. It doesn't look good if someone isn't prepared to put in the "practice" first and therefore I am pretty sure that they will want to minimize their risk by either simply not insuring you or charging you so much that should you have an accident, they have charged you soooo much money they wont make a loss

Edited by E.L.M.O, 06 July 2009 - 03:38 PM.

[Pooky]

surely something like a 1275/1380 is roughly same insurance as 1.2 clios and ford ka 1.3`s ???

A 1380 is a highly modified engine and will no doubt have other modifed parts (exhaust, carb, transmission etc) hence the reason they will want silly money to insure you, if at all.

I don't know if anyone on the forum works for any insurance company but I'm sure no one on here will be able to give you a quote!

Try MiniWorld insurance services as they talk Mini. Then just ring every company under the sun and get some quotes.

Doing Pass Plus will bring your premium down.

Sound advice from elmo by the way. You'll have just as much fun in a 998, then chuck a stage 1 on when you get bored That's what I did

[mymini007]

I have just done a quote....

James Smith
Born october 1991
living in wiltshire

1.3 cooper with the following mods value £1500

Lowered <5cm
engine bored
non standard filters
non standard wheels
non standard exhaust
uprated brakes
all the normal mods you would have with a 1380

endsleigh with excess of £500................£2560
quin direct-----------------£250.................£6142

and lots in between, so it can be done....you just ahve to pay through the nose,

[RetroRay]

Youll have just as much fun in a 998cc its not about speed in a mini most mini owners get a kick out of corners

[JohnGordon]

As many people have said your going to be paying a lot (if you get insured) there's nothing wrong with a 998 with a stage 1! To be honest you dont really need anything bigger unless you do a lot of motorway miles IMO. I'm in the middle of building a 1380 but that's because i'm going to the 'ring when I come home the 1380 will be being saved for events and a treat on a nice sunny weekend and the 998 will be back on the road full time.

It's not only insurance you have to think about, think about fuel.. We're paying around the £1 mark as it is and i doubt it'll be going down any time soon! Think how much you would save running a 998 compared to a 1380! Can you afford the fuel every week after paying 2k+ for insurance?

[mini_mad69]

You can but it's expensive. I had to wait until I had my years NCB before anyone would touch me with an engine transplant.


Thankfully living in the middle of absolute no where, means my insurance is a fraction of what most teenagers pay.

I've got my car insured, mods listed, for 780 quid. Fully comp with me as the main driver.


Weirdly I said Ive had an engine change and they said ok that's another 80 quid please, didn't ask me what engine, and the woman said that any engine is insured. So I dropped in my 1275, and now im dropping in my 1380


One tip, I added my father to the insurance as a named driver, as my dad does like driving my mini. That knocked a few quid off.

Edited by mini_mad69, 07 July 2009 - 09:26 AM.

[silva_mini]

A 998 you'll be looking at roughly £1000, maybe a bit more for the first year. Double that and a bit more for a 1275. 1380? Id be surprised if anyone would insure a 17 year old to be honest!

A good 998 with a stage 1 and rolling road tune up, isnt as bad as you might think. My 30,000 mile 998 Stage One when I was 17 gave tired 1275's a run for their money! Everyone used to ask the question "that a 1.3 you got in there mate?" it was great telling them it was only a 1 litre

Im now 22, still have the mini and now have the 1.3 Just stick it out and build up some no claims first, spend the money elsewhere on making the shell as solid as possible, can keep your mini for longer then

[Heather&Henrietta]

Good advice ELMO



Well I'm 18, I currently pay £665 per year fully comp fire and theft etc, that's with a 998cc and my Astralie alloys and centre twin exhaust declared as well. I passed my test last August but had been driving the mini since the previous December.

I've now got a 1275cc engine with a small oil cooler and twin carbs to replace my 998 with when I have the time to take her off road for a weekend....I also have a set of 13x7 Superlites which are semi-deepdish to add. I spoke to my insurance the other day and they need to know what exactly the engine has come from, so that they know whether it's a proper mini engine or a rover engine etc, its exact age, you need either a member of a garage or breakdown cover agency to check it over and sign it all off for you to say that it's fitted correctly and safely, but they also want to know how much it will effect the suspension....


Lots of factors to consider when doing an engine swap, and already mentioned here, remember the engine swap counts as a modification!

[Nelson92]

what is the biggest engine i can have without insurance getting to stupid i know as a first time it is not cheap but i want somin with a bit of poke and toy to !! surely something like a 1275/1380 is roughly same insurance as 1.2 clios and ford ka 1.3`s ???

question is could i be insured on a 1380 or if not a 1275 ??

give admiral a call. you can declare mods pretty cheaply with them.
but imo you'd be alot better off buying a good condition 1000 or 1275 and running that for a year or so.
also it helps to have someone older on it as a 2nd driver; although you can't claim its your mums and then use it every day.
if you stick a parent on as a 2nd driver it should bring it down.

[Pie]

As said above, wait it out, you can have great fun in a 998.
As soon as I reched 20 I built up a decent engine, and my car with all mods declared and agreed value was insured for under £700!
Thats was with points too!!
As Pooky said, Pass Plus does help, Norwich Union are a BIG fan of Pass Plus.
Quinn Direct are also very good for non-modified vechicles.