I recently bought a 2007 Octavia Estate VRS PD170.

How can I tell (as requested by my insurer) which extras were standard and which were ordered from the options list?

My car has dual zone climate, jumbo box, electric windows front & rear, parking sensors front & rear, xenons. It has 17" alloys.

Can anybody help?

Dual zone, jumbo box, rear electric windows, parking sensors and xenons are options.

Are you sure you're not getting confused with options when built with after market modifications?

Most insurance companies don't care about options ordered at the time the car was built, for example, my car has xenons, rear parking sensors, 18" alloys, climate pack and maxidot, but these were all ordered at the time when I ordered the car and my insurance companies haven't been interested. However, if I were to change the alloys to 19" then I'll have to tell the insurance company as it would be classed as a modification.

I thought they had a list of all model variants :confused:

Dual zone, jumbo box, rear electric windows, parking sensors and xenons are options.

You sure... I thought at least Dual zone, jumbo box and rear electric windows were std for that year onwards

If its a factory fit, then you don't need to mention it, its "modifications" from the factory spec that you do. I.E Dealer fits mud flaps, exhuast trim or you get the windows tinted.

One thing that might help is the options decoder (it makes sense of those 3 character codes on the build sticker)

Options decoder

If its a factory fit, then you don't need to mention it, its "modifications" from the factory spec that you do. I.E Dealer fits mud flaps, exhuast trim or you get the windows tinted.

Depends on your insurance company i'm afraid... Loads of threads on this elswhere on the forum.

SWMBO has bought a none VAG car & phoned her insurance company (the one Michael Winner advertises) and was asked for a list of "any factory fitted options". She gave them the list, panoramic roof, sat nav, 17" alloys, metalic paint, all were ok and didn't incur any extra weighting, except the "Black Pack" which gives metalic black bumper inserts instead of the body coloured inserts. This added an extra £40 to the premium :confused:!

The documents arrived yesterday and confirmed that her vehicle had "factory fitted options" as specified above. When she asked about this they said as the car would be brand new they have cover which, in the first year would provided her with a brand new replacement to the same specification if it was written off, hence needing to know the options to assess the risk. I've not read the whole terms and conditions, (yet! & I will be doing!), but it will be interesting to see if this would have been different if the vehicle was over a year old.

As her policy will end in four weeks anyway, she checked with another large broker who also asked for her to disclose any "factory fitted options" and any "post production & dealer options". The broker told her that none of the policies they quoted her on were affected by the options, but that "some companies do require this information."

Hey Ho!

You sure... I thought at least Dual zone, jumbo box and rear electric windows were std for that year onwards

Depends on the exact month the car is. My early 07 didn't have the options as standard, it was about May or June they became standard, although technically they were still options, just free.

Interesting to hear some insurance companies are now asking for details of factory options. Gives them a nice escape clause if you buy a used car not realising it has factory options.

All thanks for your responses.

Admiral are my insurance company (until renewal time at least). It is the first time I have had that request and yes the question was what Factory fitted options did the car have - not dealer fitted or retrofitted optoions or changes.

Hence I wanted to know if there was a definitive way of assessing which were options and which weren't. My view as Babs said was that they were all options - but can that be confirmed anywhere? The service book sticker including all the codes mentions some of the features the car has but does not specify if they were options or not!

Dual zone climate, jumbo box, rear electric windows were all part of an "option pack", however at one point they were offered as a "free upgrade"; so does that make it standard? Not sure it does, so probably worth mentioning!

Front & rear parking sensors and xenons were all options AFAIK, so for insurance purposes, I'd have to agree with Babs too

As far as i can remember all the online quotes i've ever done say "any mods?", not "what are the factory or dealer fitted options?"

Mine has front and rear parking sensors but i have no idea if they are factory or dealer fitted, and i think its a bit much for insurance companies to expect anyone other than the original owner to know what is what.

They're still options - they were "free upgrades", but still options.

And insurance will want to know about them

I seriously doubt parking sensors will incur any additional premium or prove problematic in any way, especially as these tend to reduce the risk of minor damage. If however you have modified wheels, suspension etc then they will possibly load the premium.

I used to have a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting with adjustable Koni's, Compomotive wheels, uprated ARB's and various engine mods which gave the rollerskate a power to weight ration of well over 100bhp/ton and the only insurance company that would even quote was Performance Direct!!

The thing is suble mods are so common these days that insurers are becoming a bit more lenient.

You sure... I thought at least Dual zone, jumbo box and rear electric windows were std for that year onwards

It's a grey area - they were part of an offer where they gave you those options for free......

Some insurance companies see factory fit options as modifications to the standard spec , and others don't. What they would class these as is anyone's guess.

The only way to be sure is to ask them , but as is often the way you'll sometimes get different answers if you phone up more than once.

Interesting to hear some insurance companies are now asking for details of factory options. Gives them a nice escape clause if you buy a used car not realising it has factory options.

No it doesn't.

If you have answered these questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge , they can't refuse a claim.

If it's obvious that your base model fabia didn't come with 19" alloys then they won't pay out , and quite rightly so , but if your car happens to have parking sensors that were an option they can't use that as an excuse just because you didn't know.

I though the free upgrade pack included 18" Zeniths, if so all the items listed were optional extras. However, I would only declare the headlamps and parking sensors, as the rest became standard fitting later; but only after asking if they really mean factory fitted options anyway!

It's a grey area - they were part of an offer where they gave you those options for free......

These options were a "free upgrade" on my vRS ordered 29 April 2007 (factory order). But didn't they become standard for the 2008 model year?

I have the Octavia brochure dated 1 January 2007 so if anyone has spec queries on 07 cars let me know and I'll look up the standard spec for you.

Edited 15 August, 200916 yr by Mercurio
Added factory order info

I thought the free upgrade pack included 18" Zeniths

That's right

Here's the standard equipment (over Classic) list for the vRS in the 1 Jan 2007 brochure:

17" Zenith alloys

vRS sports seats

vRS bumpers

Lowered suspension

Alarm system with interior monitoring

Electric front windows

Body coloured door mirrors, handles and rubbing strips

6 CD autochanger

4 additional speakers

Height adjustable driver and passenger seats

Remote central locking

Diesel particulate filter (2.0 TDI PD only)

Front fog lights

Chrome plated inner door handles

Illuminated glove box with air-con

Split folding rear seats

Tinted glass

Trip computer (not Maxidot)

ESP

Tyre pressure monitor

vRS 3 spoke leather sports steering wheel

Red brake calipers

Rear boot spoiler (hatch)

Twin chrome exhaust

Space saving spare wheel

Phew! That was a lot of typing

I was under the impression that anything factory-fit from the catalogue valid at time-of-build were considered 'standard' and the insurance company took that into account with the premium.

Anything dealer or post-factory fit had to be declared. This would include alloys, MFD2, suspension changes etc.

I was under the impression that anything factory-fit from the catalogue valid at time-of-build were considered 'standard' and the insurance company took that into account with the premium.

Anything dealer or post-factory fit had to be declared. This would include alloys, MFD2, suspension changes etc.

Depends on the wording.

Some say "modifications", others say "changes to manufacturers standard specification".

The standard spec would be as listed above, so factory fit, dealer fit and aftermarket additions/options are changes to that spec.

Depends on the wording.

Some say "modifications", others say "changes to manufacturers standard specification".

The standard spec would be as listed above, so factory fit, dealer fit and aftermarket additions/options are changes to that spec.

What he said.

Options can make a substantial difference to the cost of a car and hence the payout should it be written off. Would you be happy with a "standard" car to replace one with all the options?

Just checked my insurer (Swiftcover) and they definitions are:

Not covered

If your car has any of the modifications below, you need a specialist quote.

* Performance enhancement (e.g chipped engine)

* Alloy wheels worth at least £1000

* Audio system worth at least £1000*

* Altered suspension (not due to disability)

* Bodywork (e.g. air dams, side skirts)

* Large or medium spoiler or whale tail

* Induction system

* Internal trim (e.g. seats, rally harness)

* Change to original paintwork (unless to repair a car) or addition of armoured film

* Darkened windscreen and/or driver/passenger front windows

* Decorative internal or external neon lights

* Roll bars or roll cage

* Any breach of Road Traffic Act or Construction & Use regulations

Covered

We can cover your car with any of the modifications below. We don't need to know about them

* Air conditioning

* Alloy wheels worth less than £1000

* Audio system worth less than £1000*

* Modifications solely due to disability

* Permanently fitted satellite navigation

* Sunroof

* Tow bar

* Stainless steel exhaust

* Roof racks, bars, bike racks or top boxes

* Professionally converted to LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas)

Other insurers are available. Terms and conditions may vary