New to this forum, and new to modding cars - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

bell_wc5 · 02-10-2019, 06:37 PM

Title says it all, I recently got a job that allows me to have some leftover money to spend on my car. It's only a V6 2014 Camaro that I received as a high school graduation present, but I do want to make it stand out and be different from all the other ones I see on the road.

My biggest question is... What happens to aftermarket parts after a car wreck? I've never been the cause of an accident, but in the last 5 years, I've had 8 people either T-bone me, rear end me, or side swipe me from texting & driving or just not paying attention. I would be devastated if I dropped a couple hundred bucks on parts or a few grand on wheels/tires and the next day I got into an accident and the insurance company would only cover the price of the car before the upgrades. How do you guys get around this? It's the only thing stopping me at this point.

Vegas Bound · 02-10-2019, 07:20 PM

Keep receipts.

12blkgrayRS · 02-11-2019, 09:26 AM

I usually take them off before they take it away, if its somewhere accessible. At a shop, well that's tough. (you can ask if they will allow you to take off your aftermarket stuff before they come to appraise it). Make sure you have the stock stuff to put back on it. It does affect your settlement. My last few totaled cars I let them know what's on the car that's extra and they usually grant me extra on the final settlement.(it's not much). They usually have that stuff listed on their appraisal. depends on the estimator.
I lost about $3000 in aftermartket/performance stuff on my Harley from Harvey. I only got maybe 3-400 extra on my total settlement. The stuff was useless anyway, the bike sat under water for 5 days. it was only 9 months old.

zlathim · 02-11-2019, 09:58 AM

My insurance agent just told me to document all my mods with receipts. Most of us do that anyway. I've never had to deal with a claim for a totaled vehicle (with mods), so take this for what it is worth.

My advice would be to sell the V6 and get an SS if you want to go fast. You may have a sentimental attachment to the car and that's cool too. Just be prepared to be razzed every time you mention your V6 on here or on the FB page!!

Welker2 · 02-11-2019, 11:18 AM

You need to contact your insurance company before doing any mods if you are concerned about them being covered. The only way most insurance companies will normally cover any mods is if you inform them of the mods when they are done; if they accept them, they will adjust your rates accordingly. There are also some (performance) mods that some insurance companies not only won't cover, they won't cover the vehicle at all if done; if done without telling them, it may void your coverage if something were to happen. Personally, I always inform my insurance company of any mods and have them added to my policy. This really paid off several years ago when we had a vehicle stolen, the payout for the vehicle was adjusted to account for all the mods that had been done without question.

JLSuperfly · 02-11-2019, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zlathim

My advice would be to sell the V6 and get an SS if you want to go fast.

gringo is not going to like this advice.

zlathim · 02-11-2019, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLSuperfly

gringo is not going to like this advice.

Yeah, but I said it nicely, which is not how he will be treated posting something like this on the FB page. At least he can hear it here from friends first!

bell_wc5 · 02-11-2019, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zlathim

Yeah, but I said it nicely, which is not how he will be treated posting something like this on the FB page. At least he can hear it here from friends first!

Haha yeah thanks for the heads up! No matter where you go... FB, Youtube, Insta, etc etc... I'm sure if there was a V6 only Camaro convention, there would be someone there that would give you a hard time about driving a V6. Truth is, yeah, it's not a V8, but with the way muscle cars are being offered as 4 cylinders and electric cars being more common, the stigma of driving a V6 10 years from now is not going to be as big as it is today. It doesn't bother me, it's just one of those things I have to deal with haha.

bell_wc5 · 02-11-2019, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welker2

You need to contact your insurance company before doing any mods if you are concerned about them being covered. The only way most insurance companies will normally cover any mods is if you inform them of the mods when they are done; if they accept them, they will adjust your rates accordingly. There are also some (performance) mods that some insurance companies not only won't cover, they won't cover the vehicle at all if done; if done without telling them, it may void your coverage if something were to happen. Personally, I always inform my insurance company of any mods and have them added to my policy. This really paid off several years ago when we had a vehicle stolen, the payout for the vehicle was adjusted to account for all the mods that had been done without question.

Ok this is good advice, I appreciate it. I guess now it's a matter of finding which insurance companies will put up with aftermarket parts and which ones won't tolerate it at all. I'm sure most are OK with wheels/tires but things like straight pipes might be a coin toss, huh? Looks like I'll have to readjust the budget too because insurance might bump my premium up seeing they have to cover more than just the cost of the car.

grandpamike · 02-12-2019, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bell_wc5

Haha yeah thanks for the heads up! No matter where you go... FB, Youtube, Insta, etc etc... I'm sure if there was a V6 only Camaro convention, there would be someone there that would give you a hard time about driving a V6. Truth is, yeah, it's not a V8, but with the way muscle cars are being offered as 4 cylinders and electric cars being more common, the stigma of driving a V6 10 years from now is not going to be as big as it is today. It doesn't bother me, it's just one of those things I have to deal with haha.

there is a fb page called 5th gen camaro v6 non-performance group, its a good group.

gringo · 02-13-2019, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bell_wc5

Haha yeah thanks for the heads up! No matter where you go... FB, Youtube, Insta, etc etc... I'm sure if there was a V6 only Camaro convention, there would be someone there that would give you a hard time about driving a V6. Truth is, yeah, it's not a V8, but with the way muscle cars are being offered as 4 cylinders and electric cars being more common, the stigma of driving a V6 10 years from now is not going to be as big as it is today. It doesn't bother me, it's just one of those things I have to deal with haha.

The only "stigma" of driving a V6 are in the minds of mostly stock L99 owners and maybe a few LS3 owners that can't hang with the new 6th gen SS.

People who say the V6 can't be made fast are either lacking knowledge on how to actually make the V6 faster or are just lazy and want something easier to mod or ready made from the factory.

High 12s to low 13's (what a majority of mostly stock L99 and LS3's run) is not really that fast today. Stock LS1 freaks were running close to those numbers nearly 20 years ago. Sure, they're faster than a stock V6, but they should be. 2.6L of additional displacement will help with that.

Actually, I'm more impressed with the power figures of the 3.6L V6 than I am with the V8. Any 6.0L+ V8 with decent factory heads and cam should be making 400 hp.

In fact, your common 60 year old SBC 350 with good heads, cam and intake can make that much power and with a carburator too. However, getting a 3.6L V6 up past the 300+ hp level takes some advanced technology and design innovation.

It is what it is. What makes me so curious about it all is the extremely hateful attitude some V8 owners have against V6 owners. Why are they so resentful towards the V6 Camaro?

It's as if they feel threatened in some way that it forces them to utter such ridiculous nonsense statements like "V6's aren't real Camaros" or "the V6 is slow". Well, let me tell you. V6's are real Camaros too. After all, it says C-A-M-A-R-O right on my front fenders. So, I guess GM considers it a real enough Camaro to put the Camaro nameplate on it.

As for the part that the V6 is slow, that depends on what we're comparing it too. For an entry level sport coupe competing in the low $20k price range, it actually offers class leading performance, style and handling. Some V8 owners hate hearing that for some reason.

Camcar · 02-13-2019, 10:57 PM

I had a 1986 Buick Regal Grand National. No problem with V6s.

N954 · 02-14-2019, 06:32 PM

I have a 2012 V6

Go look up "Camaro v6 performance" On facebook. BCS Auto has a great community for mods. Read up on your year and understand what mods help.

Your first mod gives you the most 'oomph'. Buy -used- parts from people on here and off facebook. I got a Cold air inductions intake for ~170 instead of 400.

People will razz the v6. It is not going to EVER drag race like a v8. For cruising and commuting? Hard to beat.

Don't buy a throttle body spacer, or anything 'jet' made for this car. Snake oil.

Have fun!

pyroguy · 02-14-2019, 08:28 PM

When my wife got hit in our G8 I was told that the cold air intake that I had on it (with less than 3,000 miles) was not going to be covered. I had a receipt and everything. They suggested that I go get it off the car and try to sell it elsewhere because they wouldn't give me anything for it. If you can't afford to play then you're better off leaving it stock. Hopefully you don't end up in the same situation.

02-10-2019, 06:37 PM	#1
bell_wc5 Drives: 2014 2LT Camaro V6 Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Michigan Posts: 3	New to this forum, and new to modding cars Title says it all, I recently got a job that allows me to have some leftover money to spend on my car. It's only a V6 2014 Camaro that I received as a high school graduation present, but I do want to make it stand out and be different from all the other ones I see on the road. My biggest question is... What happens to aftermarket parts after a car wreck? I've never been the cause of an accident, but in the last 5 years, I've had 8 people either T-bone me, rear end me, or side swipe me from texting & driving or just not paying attention. I would be devastated if I dropped a couple hundred bucks on parts or a few grand on wheels/tires and the next day I got into an accident and the insurance company would only cover the price of the car before the upgrades. How do you guys get around this? It's the only thing stopping me at this point.

02-11-2019, 09:58 AM	#4
zlathim Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS/RS M6 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Idaho Posts: 726	My insurance agent just told me to document all my mods with receipts. Most of us do that anyway. I've never had to deal with a claim for a totaled vehicle (with mods), so take this for what it is worth. My advice would be to sell the V6 and get an SS if you want to go fast. You may have a sentimental attachment to the car and that's cool too. Just be prepared to be razzed every time you mention your V6 on here or on the FB page!! __________________ GPI SS2; EE E2 catch can; SP 1 7/8" LT Headers w/ hfc; FM AT 3" cat-back; CAI Cold Air Intake; AEM Wideband Tuned by GPI McCleod RXT; MGW flat stick; Ram Clutch slave cylinder & hydraulic adjuster BMR cradle & diff bushings, trailing arms, toe rods & upper control arm bushings Hotchkis sub-frame brace Stop Tech Z-23 brakes 4.10 gears, Eaton Truetrac, LPW diff cover Best 1/4 mile 12.073 @ 115.68 mph 3,300 ft DA

02-11-2019, 11:18 AM	#5
Welker2 Ret AF, cancer survivor Drives: 2013 Camaro 2SS/RS & 2006 Corvette Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mesquite, NV Posts: 2,741 View My Garage	You need to contact your insurance company before doing any mods if you are concerned about them being covered. The only way most insurance companies will normally cover any mods is if you inform them of the mods when they are done; if they accept them, they will adjust your rates accordingly. There are also some (performance) mods that some insurance companies not only won't cover, they won't cover the vehicle at all if done; if done without telling them, it may void your coverage if something were to happen. Personally, I always inform my insurance company of any mods and have them added to my policy. This really paid off several years ago when we had a vehicle stolen, the payout for the vehicle was adjusted to account for all the mods that had been done without question. __________________

02-14-2019, 08:28 PM	#14
pyroguy Started#gottalovethatblue Drives: ABM #831 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: TN Posts: 6,941 View My Garage	When my wife got hit in our G8 I was told that the cold air intake that I had on it (with less than 3,000 miles) was not going to be covered. I had a receipt and everything. They suggested that I go get it off the car and try to sell it elsewhere because they wouldn't give me anything for it. If you can't afford to play then you're better off leaving it stock. Hopefully you don't end up in the same situation. __________________ '10 Camaro 2SS/RS \| Aqua Blue #831 of 3,903 \| Silver Stripes Check out my build thread

02-10-2019, 07:20 PM	#2
Vegas Bound Account Suspended Drives: 2013 Sparkly Red One Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Hospitality State Posts: 2,558	Keep receipts.

02-11-2019, 09:26 AM	#3
12blkgrayRS Drives: 2012 Camaro RS 2LT 6spd man Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Dickinson, Texas Posts: 536	I usually take them off before they take it away, if its somewhere accessible. At a shop, well that's tough. (you can ask if they will allow you to take off your aftermarket stuff before they come to appraise it). Make sure you have the stock stuff to put back on it. It does affect your settlement. My last few totaled cars I let them know what's on the car that's extra and they usually grant me extra on the final settlement.(it's not much). They usually have that stuff listed on their appraisal. depends on the estimator. I lost about $3000 in aftermartket/performance stuff on my Harley from Harvey. I only got maybe 3-400 extra on my total settlement. The stuff was useless anyway, the bike sat under water for 5 days. it was only 9 months old.

02-13-2019, 10:57 PM	#12
Camcar Drives: 2010 RS/SS Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Southeastern Washington Posts: 77	I had a 1986 Buick Regal Grand National. No problem with V6s.

02-14-2019, 06:32 PM	#13
N954 Drives: 2012 2LT RS Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 9	I have a 2012 V6 Go look up "Camaro v6 performance" On facebook. BCS Auto has a great community for mods. Read up on your year and understand what mods help. Your first mod gives you the most 'oomph'. Buy -used- parts from people on here and off facebook. I got a Cold air inductions intake for ~170 instead of 400. People will razz the v6. It is not going to EVER drag race like a v8. For cruising and commuting? Hard to beat. Don't buy a throttle body spacer, or anything 'jet' made for this car. Snake oil. Have fun!