Insurance excess for test drive?

Hoof_Hearted

As you may know from another thread, the wife has been test driving a variety of new small auto hatchbacks to see what suits her best. Today we had arranged to test a Hyundai i20. First the salesman asked for the paper licence as well as the card. This hasn't happened previously. Also stated that there was a £450 excess which we would have to bear in the event of an accident. We were a bit gobsmacked. Has anyone else had this? Certainly not with Kia or Nissan dealers.

forgotmyname

Never had that myself.

Even had one smaller garage give me the keys and his trade plates.

leedsem

VW only wanted my photo card for my test drive but they too told me there would some hideous excess if I had an accident that was my fault.

neilmcl

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

As you may know from another thread, the wife has been test driving a variety of new small auto hatchbacks to see what suits her best. Today we had arranged to test a Hyundai i20. First the salesman asked for the paper licence as well as the card. This hasn't happened previously. Also stated that there was a £450 excess which we would have to bear in the event of an accident. We were a bit gobsmacked. Has anyone else had this? Certainly not with Kia or Nissan dealers.

Quite normal regarding the excess, you'll be driving on the dealerships insurance so would be liable for any excess in an accident that's your fault.

molerat

At which point I would tell them where to stick their car, they need you more than you need them.

alleycat`

Never had the insurance excess mentioned to me.
Always get asked for the paper counterpart.

InsideInsurance

I've never been told about the excess explicitly however looking in the paperwork I had to sign before taking the car out the excesses were mentioned in that.

colino

While it is expensive for the "cover all" insurance and it does carry a hefty excess, it is a business cost and anyone passing it on is pretty poor trader. Any chance you failed the real buyer test OP?

eschaton

colino wrote: »

While it is expensive for the "cover all" insurance and it does carry a hefty excess, it is a business cost and anyone passing it on is pretty poor trader. Any chance you failed the real buyer test OP?

That's a possibility.

I have never been asked for my licence or been told about any excess.

Although, I research what cars I am looking at first and can only recall ever test driving 2 cars that I didn't buy in 20 years or car buying, a Mazda RX8 and a Peugeot 307CC.

I have better things to do than trawl garage forecourts looking for cars to test drive.

I can't see a dealer putting obstacles in front of a genuine customer.

redux

I can imagine the excess on a dealer or other trade policy being even a thousand or two, but as the others suggest they should be absorbing that.

It would be that high to save bothering the insurers every time a car gets scratched in the workshop or backing off a transporter, or at the worst possibly creating claims to tide over non-busy periods.

When my car was being worked on at a Citroen dealer in Germany, they lent me a car to drive to the bank and a shop without even checking my licence details.

Hoof_Hearted

We are serious buyers. As said earlier, life's too short to go around driving cars we don't want. The i20 is probably top of the list, subject to the wife finding it comfortable. We declined the test drive and will go to another dealer next weekend. As above, the excess should be a business cost.

I think the explanantion was that they don't always have enough staff and customers are sometimes sent out on their own. I said we were quite happy to be accompanied, but this, apparently, makes no difference. I know the chances of a prang are remote, but just was not happy with the arrangement.

When I bought my current car, I just left my licence with the dealer and was tossed the keys and told to come back when I had given it a good test.