Car insurance for test driving?

neilmcl

Personally if I was selling a car I wouldn't let anyone test drive it unless they had a full UK license and insurance. I doubt your son has the experience to tell whether it's a good car to drive or not, I'd leave it to his dad for any test drives for now.

almillar

'Dad' will much likely be a much better judge of how good a car is than a learner will be. You need to assess all the controls against your experience of all the other cars you've driven. I wouldn't trust an L plater (myself at the time included!) to pick up on a slipping clutch, vague steering, binding brakes etc. for example.

jimjames

Xyzzy wrote: »

Search for wearemarmalade (I'm not allowed to post the link!) they do 90 day learner driver insurance. For a test drive if the seller had trade plates they may cover you, the seller should be able to tell you

I found a better option than Marmalade called Covered on Demand. You only insure the days you need and can specify the vehicle. Depending on the car they're looking to buy then the cheapest policy is £26 which gives 3 days cover out of 7 and you can change to another vehicle for £15. Requires vehicle to have insurance in place and to be accompanied by suitable person.

Having said that, if he buys the car before he passes then the insurance will be more expensive than driving your car. Might be better to save his pennies for the insurance once he passes.

Tarambor wrote: »

In your sons case he isn't going to be able to get any.

That's not strictly true. The option I posted above will work if the car has insurance already - which every car on a public road that is taxed must have anyway.

Hintza

EJennyJ wrote: »

....... but I personally wouldn't want to buy a car I hadn't driven!!

I never test drive cars I buy! (Mind you they are normally delivered as write offs). Even when I went through a period of leasing cars I never bothered.......right which is the cheapest car for the job I'm wanting it for, great that will do

forgotmyname

As long as the car moves then what will he get from test driving it, which is usually a short low speed drive anyway?
he will know if its confortable by sitting in it, and sitting in the car with dad will pickup any unusual noises.

I have bought a car after getting someone else to have a quick go up the road. I couldnt goto pick it up at the time and didnt want to miss out.
Seller offered a good discount for a trade sale and i snapped it up.

It was one of the best cars ive had. Very few repairs in the 4/5 years i had it.
Tyres and brakes and some oil changes. Not even a blown bulb.

Gloomendoom

Car_54 wrote: »

Unless "your day" was before 1930 you needed to be insured.

That is true, but insurance companies used to be a lot less picky than they are today.

My first insurance policy when I was a teenager just stated that I was insured to drive any motor vehicle.

Billy_Bullocks

Gloomendoom wrote: »

That is true, but insurance companies used to be a lot less picky than they are today.

My first insurance policy when I was a teenager just stated that I was insured to drive any motor vehicle.

I had that on my policies until the 90s. Then it change to car., which is a pity as it was handy for testing bikes.

Herzlos

Much better to just buy a car *after* passing his test. What happens if he fails and you've got a car rotting on the driveway for another 6+ months?