Insurance cover when buying a car privately

sghughes42

I'm looking to change my current car as it is coming up to the MOT and is going to need work doing to get it through, primarily a complete new exhaust including the cat. As it is 14 years old it isn't really worth getting this done.

I've seen a car I like for sale privately. I was originally planning to sell mine on eBay as they seem to be going for over £200, many sell for £500, but I'd only get around £100 scrap if I was lucky.

However, what I'm not clear on is the insurance aspect. Am I right in thinking I'd need to keep the old car insured even if I wasn't using it? I did ask the insurance company but they weren't very clear, even seeming to suggest I'd have to start a new policy for the new car with zero NCD until I had sold the old car when it could be transferred over.

Does anyone have any experience of this? If the insurance will be an issue then it would probably be cheaper and certainly less hassle just to scrap it even though I'd get less for it.

My existing company aren't particularly cheap for the new car - twice what I'm paying now and about 80% more than I've had quoted on the comparison sites but they seemed to suggest I'd have to stick with them if I wanted to sell my existing car privately otherwise I'd lose all my NCD.

colin79666

You could sorn your old car if you can keep it off the public highway. Then it doesn't need to be insured.
It is true that you can't normally use the ncd on a new car if you keep the old one. There are multi car policies out there though.

sghughes42

I can keep it on the driveway if that counts, but what if someone wanted a test-drive before putting in an offer? I would assume it would come under their insurance policy but don't they tend to insist the owner has it insured as well?

thehappybutterfly

What my insurance company did was swap the insurance over but the old one was still covered for 7 days - "7 days grace" they called it. That meant both cars were covered so we could drive through to Glasgow to get it, drive both cars back then drive the old car to WBAC a few days later.

ETA - which doesn't really answer your question does it?....

colin79666

sghughes42 wrote: »

I can keep it on the driveway if that counts, but what if someone wanted a test-drive before putting in an offer? I would assume it would come under their insurance policy but don't they tend to insist the owner has it insured as well?

Yes and no. If they are driving it on a drive any car third party cover then usually the car must have its own insurance too. If they go out and buy day cover then that is usually ok, but in all cases you need to read the fine print. If you sorn it can't legally be on the road as it won't be taxed.

You can sorn and unsorn as often as you like but it would be a hassle and day insurance usually says on it that it can't be used to tax a vehicle. Sounds like your needs would be best met by a multi car policy or just selling it quick to a trader.

sghughes42

Daft question, but how do I go about finding a trader to sell it to? As I mentioned, the car will need work in the very near future and I'd suspect most traders would consider it uneconomic due to the age and general condition.

thehappybutterfly

sghughes42 wrote: »

Daft question, but how do I go about finding a trader to sell it to? As I mentioned, the car will need work in the very near future and I'd suspect most traders would consider it uneconomic due to the age and general condition.

That's why we went with WBAC - we couldn't be bothered advertising, dickering etc plus the engine was on it's way out and I wouldn't lie to any potential buyer. We didn't get much for it but it was the easiest option for us.

sghughes42

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

That's why we went with WBAC - we couldn't be bothered advertising, dickering etc plus the engine was on it's way out and I wouldn't lie to any potential buyer. We didn't get much for it but it was the easiest option for us.

Went on their website and got an initial quote of £330 which dropped to £200 when I added the dodgy exhaust. Then they emailed me saying I only had 7 days to accept the offer and it was at that point they mentioned the £50 admin charge. Starting to get back down to what I'd get from a scrap yard. I was wondering if it was worth just calling in and asking them for a valuation? You can book an appointment online but the make it sound as if you'd be selling the car there and then rather than just going to have the value confirmed.

thehappybutterfly

Nah, you can take it along, get them to value it and if you're not happy you respectfully decline.

They didn't even lift the bonnet on ours, just checked for scratches, dents and chips.

We got £201, after fees, for our 04 plate Astra 1.6. It was guzzling oil and either the engine needed replaced or stripped down and it just wasn't worth it. So bye bye Sir Geoffrey!!

thehappybutterfly

Im not entirely sure what they do with crappy cars once they buy them. It might be the scrappy or maybe auction. When my hubby dropped ours off, there was a transporter already loaded waiting for ours to join them.

colin79666

You could always cut out the middle man and take it to auction yourself. There is a risk that it sells for less but with a car worth only a few hundred pounds it might be worth a punt.
http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/Sell/