Big insurance problem when buying 2nd hand cars

mushypeaman

I want to replace my car by buying another one privately, then selling my present car privately. Big problem is, as soon as I buy a car and transfer the insurance, I still own my present car which is then immediately uninsured. I can't have it on the road to sell it, or take anyone for a rest drive in it. In fact, if I've gone to buy the new car in the present one, I can't even get it home!

I've enquired about temporary insurance but it's very expensive, especially if the car is not high value. My daughter used to be with an insurance company (forgotten which one) that would carry on insuring both cars for 14 days at no extra cost, which seems reasonable enough: I can only drive one at a time.

Anybody got any thoughts or solutions?

spacey2012

Yes, sell the old car first.

OddballJamie

You could part-ex.

Foxy-Stoat_3

If your present insurance company cannot keep the first car insured for a few weeks while you sell then you will need to park your new car off the road and not drive it while you sell your first car. You will have to refund the tax on the second car also while its off the road.

Pain all this continuous insurance laws but them is the rules.......

mushypeaman

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

If your present insurance company cannot keep the first car insured for a few weeks while you sell then you will need to park your new car off the road and not drive it while you sell your first car. You will have to refund the tax on the second car also while its off the road.

Pain all this continuous insurance laws but them is the rules.......

I do wish people would read the question properly. I'm not asking for a statement of the law, which I'm already aware of. I'm asking for possible solutions to the problem.

Battleaxe44

I don't know the answer, as we had the same problem of not being allowed to have the same insurance on two cars. old one being sold and new one to be picked up. We had to take out a new insurance policy and then cancel the old one when the old car was sold as there was an overlap in the time scale.

I thought they would issue a cover note on the new car for a couple of weeks but that was not allowed.

I guess what I am saying, is you are not the only person who has had this problem

Foxy-Stoat_3

I thought that was a possible solution....maybe I didn't type it very well:

Talk to your present insurers and ask them if they will keep your first car insured for a couple of weeks - they wont do this for free. If they wont help then:

You can buy 24 hour policies for around £25, that will get your new car home.

Park your new car off the road while you sell and still drive your first car, which will allow test drives etc.

fivetide

mushypeaman wrote: »

I do wish people would read the question properly. I'm not asking for a statement of the law, which I'm already aware of. I'm asking for possible solutions to the problem.

I thought Foxy was clear actually.

Call your insurer. Explain the issue. See if they will extend you some cover on your old car while you sell it and cover your new one too.

Only issue it gives you a time limit to sell so quick eBay auction or it is off to WBAC...

There is not much else you can do.

mushypeaman

Battleaxe44 wrote: »

I guess what I am saying, is you are not the only person who has had this problem

Exactly, and I knew I wouldn't be, but perhaps there are people who have found a solution. If not, then perhaps the enormous influence of MSE could put pressure on the insurance industry to change things. There must be tens, if not hundreds of thousands of motorists who are caught in this expensive trap every year. Or, who knows, there may be people who are not taking the opportunity to get a private sale bargain because of the insurance hassle. Thanks for your interesting input.

Rain_Shadow

mushypeaman wrote: »

I do wish people would read the question properly. I'm not asking for a statement of the law, which I'm already aware of. I'm asking for possible solutions to the problem.

Perhaps if you read the answers properly........;)

mad_rich

The answer is to write to your MP.

It's a fantastic pain in the @rse that adds cost and immense hassle to the process of changing cars.

You either take the financial hit of a part-ex (if possible), take the financial hit of temporary insurance, or take the hassle and financial hit of SORNing the old car.

-

Practically speaking, I would happily leave the car uninsured and not SORNed (but taxed) for a week if necessary. This would be on the assumption that the car isn't being driven, and it would take the DVLA that long to get upset about it. Any longer than that, or if you want to drive it, and you need to find an insurer with reasonable cancellation charges (usually cheaper than temporary cover).