Selling old car - insurance query

dcouponzzzz

Hi All,

I'm currently selling my old car, which is sat on the driveway taxed but not insured. My full insurance policy was moved to my new car.

My question is, how can I arrange for potential buyers to test drive the old car?

1) Does their own insurance cover them (if so would I ask them to prove it)?
2) Am I responsible for arranging cover for that day taking the risk they won't show?
3) Should I ask the buyer to arrange cover (doesn't sound ideal, I wouldn't like being told this as a buyer...) ?
4) Should I just sell to a local 2nd hand trade seller for half the asking price and let them worry about it?

Any advice is much appreciated, thank you.

BeenThroughItAll

You need to declare the vehicle SORN.


The Continuous Insurance Enforcement rules made it illegal to keep a vehicle taxed but not insured - this is detected and enforced by automated data trawls by MIB or and DVLA so even for a short period you run the risk of being caught out by it.


This has been the case for at least 5 or 6 years now.

dcouponzzzz

Thanks BeenThroughItAll, so how would you suggest I proceed to sell this? If I SORN I'm still not able to offer a test drive, so I assume I should pay £600 to insure for the rest of the year and take the refund when it actually sells?

AdrianC

dcouponzzzz wrote: »

I'm currently selling my old car, which is sat on the driveway taxed but not insured.

You are breaking the law, and will receive a penalty through the post. If a car is not insured, it MUST be SORNed. If it's taxed, it MUST be insured.

Quentin

If you only want to sell it yourself you've a stark choice. Either insure it or sorning it

If you want to offer test drives then you need to insure it.

Another option is to sell it to a second hand car buyer company prepared to collect it

dcouponzzzz

Thanks Adrian, I'm aware of this from BeenThroughItAll's post. Could you suggest a course of action either way? I'm in a position to insure it or SORN it, I'm hoping for an educated opinion on what action to take. Whichever I do take, I'll be taking it tonight.

dcouponzzzz

Quentin wrote: »

If you only want to sell it yourself you've a stark choice. Either insure it or sorning it

If you want to offer test drives then you need to insure it.

Another option is to sell it to a second hand car buyer company prepared to collect it

Thanks for the clarity Quentin, I'll choose to insure it.

AdrianC

dcouponzzzz wrote: »

Thanks Adrian, I'm aware of this from BeenThroughItAll's post. Could you suggest a course of action either way? I'm in a position to insure it or SORN it, I'm hoping for an educated opinion on what action to take. Whichever I do take, I'll be taking it tonight.

It all depends on how you're looking to sell it.

You can take the quick-but-low-return route, and use WBAC or similar.
You can take the slow-and-hassle-but-more-money route, and sell it privately.

To test drive it, a potential buyer will need their own cover - which you really do need to check - which may well stipulate that the car needs to be insured in its own right. If it's SORNed, and their cover doesn't stipulate that it needs to be separately insured, then they will be covered to test-drive it, but there's the potential for a fine (and clamping) if it's seen on the road untaxed. The moment the potential buyer gets out from the driver's seat, it'll be uninsured - and if it's seen on the road, it will almost certainly be seized.

ilikewatch

dcouponzzzz wrote: »

Thanks Adrian, I'm aware of this from BeenThroughItAll's post. Could you suggest a course of action either way? I'm in a position to insure it or SORN it, I'm hoping for an educated opinion on what action to take. Whichever I do take, I'll be taking it tonight.

How much is it (realistically) worth? This could have a bearing on the advice you're given.

unholyangel

Why not contact your existing insurance company and ask them how much they would charge to keep the old car on temporarily until you sold it?

Although I'm not sure it would help with test drives unless you're the one driving and the buyer is just a passenger/you're willing to take the risk of being out of pocket in event of an accident.

Typically your insurance will only cover you (ie policy holder & named drivers) to drive the car. Their insurance will typically only offer max cover of third party/theft when they are driving another car. Also, it would be prudent to ask them to prove they have adequate insurance because if they do not, both of you could be guilty of an offence.

dcouponzzzz

ilikewatch wrote: »

How much is it (realistically) worth? This could have a bearing on the advice you're given.

It's realistically worth a meagre £700