Test Drive Insurance - Never Heard of This

foxy-stoat

Maybe the dealers have had a few accidents in the past on "test drives", punter asks to test drive a car and drives into the back of his mate who is waiting around the corner full of passengers all claiming whiplash and spinal injuries.

Probably dealers covering themselves a little too much.

Car_54

NBLondon wrote: »

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.

Your driving licence sitting on the desk did not show whether you had any endorsement, or indeed were disqualified. It seems perfectly reasonable for the dealer to check this, just as many car hire companies do.

marlot

Car_54 wrote: »

Your driving licence sitting on the desk did not show whether you had any endorsement, or indeed were disqualified. It seems perfectly reasonable for the dealer to check this, just as many car hire companies do.

If your licence is stolen then the thief could use it to go and steal a car as long as they look vaguely like you (assuming your licence is a photocard).

A little thing on the 'view driving licence' screen is the issue number of the licence. The salesman can see if the one in front of him is no longer the latest one - so the dealer who goes to the effort of looking your licence up online might be the one who spots your stolen licence in circulation.

hollie.weimeraner

foxy-stoat wrote: »

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

All you need to do is log onto GOV.uk and follow the instructions for share my licence. You get a code that you take with you and they log in to check the endorsements. They only need your NI details if you can't provide them with the code yourself.

UncleZen

I test drove a Lexus CT200h 2 years ago and the excess for the test drive was £1000!

NBLondon

Car_54 wrote: »

Your driving licence sitting on the desk did not show whether you had any endorsement, or indeed were disqualified. It seems perfectly reasonable for the dealer to check this, just as many car hire companies do.

It's a paper licence - it has the (expired) endorsements written on it. It's a good few years since I hired a car and every other time I've driven a dealer's or manufacturer's car - the licence was enough - that includes driving up the Goodwood Hillclimb at the Moving Motor Show. Plus the licence already has a unique reference on it - I'd always assumed that could be checked by insurance companies if needed.

hollie.weimeraner wrote: »

All you need to do is log onto GOV.uk and follow the instructions for share my licence. You get a code that you take with you and they log in to check the endorsements. They only need your NI details if you can't provide them with the code yourself.

Looking it up afterwards - you're right. And in the world where a licence could be stolen or people only carry the photocard it makes sense. And had the dealer bothered to tell me this when I booked "Please can you go online and get an authorisation code for us" - I could/would have done it. As it was - the salesdrone went into "computer says no" mode and couldn't explain why she asked for personal information that wasn't relevant to the reason I was there other than "it's a new rule". So they lost the chance to convince me it was better than my current car.

DCFC79

Maybe its been changed in the last 2 years but Ive never had this, last car I test drove I handed my keys over to the salesman and was back after 20 minutes, have test driven other cars but don't recall needing to sign a form with an excess. Maybe its because the salesman knew me as being a returning customer.

gozaimasu

NBLondon wrote: »

As it was - the salesdrone went into "computer says no" mode and couldn't explain why she asked for personal information that wasn't relevant to the reason I was there other than "it's a new rule". So they lost the chance to convince me it was better than my current car.

Exactly this, nice one. I bet most people just give out this personal information without even thinking about why it's needed. Data Protection should have got more of a boost with the GDPR coming out in May. Bloody hairdresser about 7 years ago wanted my address. !!!!!!? Haven't been to a hairdresser since, just cut my own. I want to give someone money to cut my hair and they certainly don't need my address to do it.



http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/comment/article-2647406/RACHEL-RICKARD-STRAUS-We-fight-against-data-thieves-includes-hairdresser.html



I wasn't aware they did this these days so I'll be making sure to get my check code next time I go to test drive some cars.

DoaM

Cornucopia wrote: »

It will be a Skoda Octavia 1.0 SE Technology DSG

Is that a typo and should say 1.9? A 1 litre engine (especially with a DSG auto box) in an Octavia (i.e. VW Passat) sized car is going to accelerate like treacle.

Cornucopia

DoaM wrote: »

Is that a typo and should say 1.9? A 1 litre engine (especially with a DSG auto box) in an Octavia (i.e. VW Passat) sized car is going to accelerate like treacle.

I've driven it. It is 115bhp, and whilst it's not sporty, it's more than adequate. My current car is 92bhp, so the new one will be that much more.

The DSG gearbox is 7-speed, dual clutch. It's used right across VAG, and has an excellent reputation. It's smooth and responsive.