Factory option or dealer accessory: what each costs, and what the warranty covers

Every official personalisation programme splits into two kinds of work. A factory option is built into the car as it is assembled, which means it has to be ordered before production starts. A dealer accessory is a catalogue part fitted to a car that already exists, so it can be added on delivery day or five years later. The practical rule: paint, leather, stitching, inlays and anything that changes the shell belong to the first group. Bolt-ons such as decals, mats, roof boxes, lights and spoilers belong to the second.

That one distinction decides most of what an owner can and cannot do later.

What the factory does, and what it charges

Porsche is the clearest example because it runs both sides separately. Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur customises production cars, and Porsche's own newsroom says customers can choose from more than 700 Exclusive Manufaktur options across all model series, with 25 per cent of all 911 models delivered worldwide visiting the Zuffenhausen workshops for customisation. Within that, Factory Commissioning handles colour and material wishes directly in production, Factory Re-Commissioning does the same for a car already delivered, and Factory One-Off covers bespoke technical development. Tequipment, by contrast, is the retrofit accessory range, now more than 500 options.

The money is the interesting part. Autocar India, which visited the programme, reports that on a 911 Carrera S in India the regular Shark Blue paint costs ₹5.5 lakh, Paint to Sample Mexico Blue costs ₹18 lakh, and a PTS Plus colour created from scratch costs ₹23 lakh. At the Sonderwunsch end of the scale, the same report describes a car whose paint job alone was worth ₹3 crore, on a donor car costing ₹2 crore.

For that money you are buying a shell painted in the plant before assembly, in a colour that is on the car from the day it is invoiced. A wrap or a respray later costs a fraction of it, but it is a layer on top of a finished car, and it is not part of the build.

Dealer-fitted programmes, and what the warranty actually says

MINI India launched Mod My MINI on 26 August 2026 for the Cooper and Countryman families. It offers over 100 classic MINI paint shades, thematic decals and original MINI accessories, with the roof, mirror caps, spoilers and brake calipers all changeable, and MINI claims 2.5 million unique combinations. The work is done through authorised dealers, of which MINI lists 17 sales touchpoints across 16 cities, and the announcement gives decals a 24-month warranty from the date of installation. No prices were stated.

The mass-market versions work the same way with smaller numbers. Tata says its genuine accessories have undergone a stringent validation process and enjoy a pan-India warranty, and that additional fitment charges may apply. Maruti Suzuki promises scheduled installation and guaranteed expert fitment at the dealer. That warranty on the part, and the fact that it was designed around your exact model, is what you are paying the premium for against an aftermarket equivalent.

How to decide before you book

Treat colour, upholstery and trim as a booking-time decision. Once the car is built, your options shrink to retrofit parts or a specialist repaint, and only a few brands offer a factory route back.

Treat bolt-ons as something you can take your time over. Compare the official accessory against the aftermarket part, and ask the dealer in writing which warranty covers the accessory, for how long, and whether fitment is extra. Keep that invoice with the car's papers. It is the document that settles arguments later.

Sources