It’s the cheapest car in the world, so you’re probably not expecting it to come with alloy wheels, fog lights and racing stripes.
However, according to the launch website for the Tato Nano, you can take your pick from a host of optional extras. Perhaps you fancy your Nano with a silver roof stripe, with coloured cover seats or with radial spike alloy wheels? How about with ink blue paint?
Of course, there is a catch. The launch website doesn’t say how much these bonus features will add to the current £1,300 price tag.
In a way that lack of clarity personifies our approach to optional extras. At most manufacturer websites you do get a clear indication of how much your bonus features cost initially – but most us are blind about their long-term costs.
Even if you have the cash to pay for your extras outright, you’re likely to keep on paying for them long into the future via your
car insurance premiums.
The more you ‘pimp out’ your vehicle, the less likely you are to secure
cheap car insurance because in insurers’ minds, the more features your car has, the more likely you are to make a claim.
A Mercedes with alloys, rims and leather seats is more prone to theft than a plain old Skoda just as adding racing stripes and boosting the bhp of your Ford Fiesta’s engine increases the chances that you’ll be involved in an accident.
If you do modify your vehicle you must inform your insurer – or you risk invalidating a claim.
The key therefore is to shop around for car insurance. If after modifications, your current provider no longer offers cheap car insurance then search online by manufacturer, such as ‘Mercedes car insurance’, to see what quotes are available elsewhere.
