Test Drive Insurance - Never Heard of This

Cornucopia

I'm looking for a new car at the moment, and am going on a few test drives.

Having completed 4 or 5 drives so far with no issues, I went to a Dealer today, and they wanted me to sign a Test Drive contract, committing me to a £250 excess. When I objected that the contract appeared to be a loan car, they changed it to a demonstrator contract with a £500 excess.

I'd never heard of this before, and two of my previous test drives hadn't even required me to produce a Driving Licence or sign anything.

Is this new or sharp practice by a particular dealer chain?

Jackmydad

It'd cause me to walk.
I had a courtesy car a while back from what I thought was a decent independent.
Excess was a grand. :eek:
Too late to back out, but I waved them goodbye once safely back.
They were no cheaper than the place I normally use. (Main dealer!)
They overfilled the brake fluid, and I'm sure the aircon wasn't as good.

Cornucopia

Jackmydad wrote: »

It'd cause me to walk.

I didn't sign. The Salesman drove.

k3lvc

Cornucopia wrote: »

I didn't sign. The Salesman drove.

Not really a test drive then ?

I've found the practice at a number of dealers over the past few years - the alternative being to add the car to my own insurance for the period of test drive to ensure fully-comp cover. No issues from me for this practise but I do draw the line when the dealers try and charge (but still only found this for service loan cars, not test drives)

MovingForwards

Never buy a car without driving it yourself, you never know there may be a qwerk you dont like.

I normally take licence and proof of driving other cars (stated on insurance certificate).

I can understand them wanting cover on their cars as DOC only covers damage to others not to the one you are driving.

Jackmydad

Cornucopia wrote: »

I didn't sign. The Salesman drove.

Not the same as having a drive yourself though is it?
Sounds like another "What can we get out of them" scheme.
No doubt cheaper insurance for them.

Cornucopia

In terms of driving the car, it's complicated. I'd already driven the car at a different dealer, and was okay with it, except for the clutch. So, I wanted to try the automatic, and the local dealer didn't have one.

I think I have enough experience of the car overall to go ahead, and my local is supposed to be trying to source an auto model for me to drive later this week. (Not holding my breath, though). I'm not going to be buying through any of the local dealers because their lease rates are way too high, so I'm keen not to waste too much of their time.

If the local dealer gets back to me and wants a similar excess, I shall bear in mind the idea of putting on my insurance - so thanks for that suggestion.

NBLondon

Ford invited me to drive the New (4th Gen) Focus so I booked a date with the dealer who were promising me a good trade-in as I was a loyal customer... So I took my driving licence (as that's all I've ever shown any dealer in the past) and the salesdrone started taking me through some details on screen - including the questions "Will the vehicle be used for hire or reward?" - No, not in the course of a test drive! I assumed it was just a badly designed process for their corporate insurance. Then she asked for my NI Number. I asked why and she showed me that she was going to use it to double-check the endorsements on my licence (which was sitting on the desk) on this web page. No mention of this in advance and her flannel about "Oh it's a new rule" actually meant "It's a new Ford rule". Given that I had already spotted her telling me the wrong info about financing deals.. I walked.

I might try a different dealer chain if I can be bothered - but I'm reminded of the Mazda dealer we went to last year who looked at the licence, photocopied it and then happily sent us out unaccompanied in 3 different cars.

Maybe Ford do have a problem with people turning up for test drives with someone else's licence and causing accidents but it sounds more like they are trying to cut costs on their corporate insurance.

EmmyLou30

Test drives in recent years at Citroen, BMW, Mini and Skoda have all taken a copy of the licence and checked the online database for points on it before giving me the keys. I think that's standard practice now.

Cornucopia

EmmyLou30 wrote: »

Test drives in recent years at Citroen, BMW, Mini and Skoda have all taken a copy of the licence and checked the online database for points on it before giving me the keys. I think that's standard practice now.

Yes, I had that at Citroen. They needed my NI number to validate online database access to my driving record.

For the record (and these will not necessarily reflect the official Brand/Dealer policy, but could just be a lazy salesman):-

- Nissan - no licence check, no form, no signature.

- Skoda dealer 1 - licence checked, copied and a form signed (but no excess AFAICR).

- Citroen - licence check, database access and a form signed but only after returning the vehicle. No excess.

- Skoda dealer 2 - licence checked, copied and a form required with a £250 excess that I declined to sign and was not then allowed to drive.

- Vauxhall - licence checked and copied, but no form.

I accept that damage to demonstrator vehicles must be a valid issue for dealerships, but I really do feel that unless wilful negligence on the part of the customer is suspected then it is a risk and a cost to the dealership that they simply have to bear. The idea that a customer should have to cover a significant chunk of the risk when driving an unfamiliar car in a possibly unfamiliar location is (to me) quite ridiculous.


Anyhoo, and despite this slight bump in the road to car acquisition, I think I've decided to buy (well, to lease). It will be a Skoda Octavia 1.0 SE Technology DSG. I'm talking to a Skoda Dealer that specialises in Contract Hire, and is quoting £2490 deposit + 35 x £120pm. It's not quite the epic deal it might appear to be because the deposit is larger than a typical lease, but it's up there with the best prices available. I'd also sooner do business directly with a Skoda dealer than a broker - especially for my first ever lease and my first ever Skoda.

foxy-stoat

You need your NI number and driving licence number to check endorsements online.