deceased car how to MOT & sell

nbdy

Hi

My Dad passed away letting his cars MOT, road tax and insurance expire as he wasn't fit enough to drive and had SORNed the car.

How do I get it insured and taxed in the name of his estate so that I can MOT it and sell it?

Thanks

TBagpuss

You can drive it to an MoT appoitment even though it has been declared SORN.

You may be able to extend your own insurance cover you driving it there and back .

Alternatively if you sell to a dealer they may be able to collect it and deal with the MoT etc. 

I don't think you would be able to get insurance in the name of the estate, if it costs you extra on your policy you should be able to claim that as an expense from the estate .
When it comes to sell I think you'd just fill in the log book as [name] as executor for [dad's name] and might need to provide a copy of thegrant of probate.

nbdy

Thanks for your reply

I don't have my own insurance, I'm named on my partners as a second driver, so I don't know if that will work

I've looked at dealers who'll collect and buy without MOT, they are offering half it's value!

Can you insure a car in your name when you are not the registered keeper?

RAS

Can your partner extend their insurance to cover driving the car to and from the MOT?

nbdy

I'm thinking the best solution is to get 1 month temporary insurance in my name, that way I can MOT & tax it and then drive it to the dealer that gives me the best offer.

From what I understand the DVLA will have already been notified of the death through the Tell Us Once service and the DVLA will automatically consider the executor as the registered keeper.

Is this correct?

doodling

Hi,

In order to tax the car you will need to become the registered keeper.  All the tell us once service will have done is tell the DVLA that the keeper is no longer alive and that the tax is invalid.  See Telling DVLA after someone dies: Keeping a vehicle - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).  I don't think that the DVLA can consider the executor to be the keeper without their consent although the car is owned by the executor (on trust for the beneficiaries of the will) so if there are any liabilities as a result of ownership then the executor will be liable for them (to the extent that there are assets in the estate to pay).

The executor can become the registered keeper themselves or delegate someone else to become the registered keeper to get the car sold.  It is also possible to sell directly - see Telling DVLA after someone dies: Selling a vehicle - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) although I understand that you don't want to do that.

I suspect that the steps will be:
1. Become the keeper.
2. Get insurance.
3. Get an MOT
4. Tax the vehicle.
5. Sell it / give it to a beneficiary.

nbdy

Does becoming the keeper not increase the number of previous owners and therefore decrease the value?

The offer I have from we buy any car is based on no previous owners as my Dad bought the car from new.

msb1234

I was in your position for my mums car. I rang around a few dealers, and was able to have one of them to come and collect it for not much less than I would have got had I gone to the expense of MOT / Tax / Insurance.
They collected it on the back of a tow truck.

Savvy_Sue

nbdy said:

Does becoming the keeper not increase the number of previous owners and therefore decrease the value?

The offer I have from we buy any car is based on no previous owners as my Dad bought the car from new.

I am not sure no. of owners does decrease value significantly, but there's a motoring board where you could ask?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/motoring

sheramber

When I sold my husband's car which had been transferred to me the dealer told me the number of previous owners didn't matter.

My husband's insurance allowed it to continue as an executry but as your dad's insurance has lapsed that option will not be available to you.

theoretica

I am pretty sure you can insure a car in your name when you are not the registered keeper (eg kids whose parents own the car, but they are the main driver) - but it is a straightforward question to ask an insurance company.  Talking to your partner's insurance company might be the simplest. 

There is also the option of asking the garage if they can collect and return it on trade insurance.