Private sale - Test drive?

PrettyBoy

What is the general consensus on this matter? I was discussing this with a colleague earlier today and mentioned that when I bought my car from a dealer and test drove it, but how do people feel about test driving a car that's being sold privately?

From a buyers point of view it would be preferable to drive the car before you buy it but I can't imagine many people being fully insured to test drive a car they're going to have a look at. From a sellers point of view I can see why they would be reluctant to offer a test drive as anything can go wrong and the seller will be left to pick up the pieces regardless of whether the driver was insured or not.

So, when selling a car would you allow a stranger/potential buyer to test drive it? And for those buying a car, would you ever agree to buy the car and hand over the money without test driving the car first?

Let's say the car in question is worth €3k.

jimgoose

Absolutely not - no drive, no sale. I have full-comp on my driving-other-cars extension, so that's not a problem either.

MuppetCheck

Proof of insurance (and doesn't look like a p1ss artist) then flake away with me in passenger seat.

Bpmull

When I sold my last car the person took it for a drive I went with him. I wasn't too bothered as my insurance would cover him over 25 open driving and all that. I'd find it hard to believe many buyers would buy a car without getting to drive it. So to answer the question I wouldn't mind letting a potential buyer test drive the car.

bazz26

When letting someone test drive your car remember not to put the key in the ignition until you are sitting in the passenger seat next to them.

ba_barabus

Don't come looking at me car or kicking da tires unless you have da mula in your back pocekt.

NO MORE TIMEWASTER WITH YER STUPID QUESTIONZZZZ

visual

I wouldn't buy a car without test drive.
I know my insurance covers me to drive other cars but its only 3rd party. So it doesn't cover the sellers car it just protects me from claims from 3rd parties.

Selling a car I would allow potential buyer drive the car. I know their insurance is typically like mine and its only 3rd party on my car. So from that perspective I don't think it makes any difference if they have insurance or not if my car is damaged. 3rd party cover would only make it legal and cover a 3rd party not me.

Could try apply the rule you see in some shops "you brake it you bought it". But I doubt that would practical or enforceable.

YbFocus

I will never buy a car without a test drive and would never expect anyone to buy one off me either, once they have valid insurance they can drive it I won't mind.
But they have to be serious buyers, not 4 lads rocking up in a dubbed out Bora for a blast kind of thing

Alanstrainor

When I was looking at 3 series I had a number of private sellers just hand me the keys and off I went! Couldn't believe it. I obviously don't strike people as the car robbing type:D

Voodoomelon

I'd say the huge majority of both private sellers/buyers don't care about the insurance side of things, rightly or wrongly. "Sure it's only up and down the road" and most drivers would "assume" they're covered.

Matt Simis

visual wrote: »

I wouldn't buy a car without test drive.
I know my insurance covers me to drive other cars but its only 3rd party. So it doesn't cover the sellers car it just protects me from claims from 3rd parties.

Selling a car I would allow potential buyer drive the car. I know their insurance is typically like mine and its only 3rd party on my car. So from that perspective I don't think it makes any difference if they have insurance or not if my car is damaged. 3rd party cover would only make it legal and cover a 3rd party not me.

I would do the same as the above. Think I only sold two cars where the new owner didnt test drive it first, which I thought was odd.

Toyotafanboi

i went to view the glanza in north dublin in a private deal in an estate where i passed a man in a wifebeater top walking a piebald pony as if weren't out of the ordinary. the owner handed me the keys, and i asked him did he want to come with me, "oh no i wouldn't like to crowd you"... thought it was weird so i left him the keys of the car i arrived in to make him feel a little better.

on the opposite end of the scale when i test drive the vitz, i just pottered around the housing estate for a quick feel of the car. the owner was egging me on, "take it out to the motorway, give it a proper blast to ****"

as above, wouldn't buy without driving it. nor would i expect someone to buy from me without driving it. but if 4 young lads turn up in a civic to look at it, nobody is driving it.

bugsntinas

wouldn't be too happy to let someone drive a car just incase.i remember many years ago when my dad had a mk3 cortina.he bought a scrap one from a guy for the engine.when we got to him it was a beautiful white one with tan roof looked real good from the drivers side.the passenger side was a different story all the side was shoved in.apparently a potential buyer took it for a test drive(no insurance) and i think either someone stuck their nose out too far from a junction or they pulled out in front of someone either way the seller totally lost out as he wasn't covered for the buyer.

unkel

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

i went to view the glanza in north dublin in a private deal in an estate where i passed a man in a wifebeater top walking a piebald pony as if weren't out of the ordinary.

Sounds like the Glanza was in its natural habitat


(sorry couldn't resist )

Toyotafanboi

unkel wrote: »

Sounds like the Glanza was in its natural habitat


(sorry couldn't resist )

legitimate comment to be fair.

mine was exceptional though, this guy had a whole garden of japanese stuff, imported this glanza himself and just never used it. he said the missus had put pressure on him to get rid something from the yard . was the most original glanza (i have still) ever seen in the flesh.

Wheelnut

visual wrote: »

Could try apply the rule you see in some shops "you brake it you bought it"...

Love the play on spelling, subtle and clever!

Esel

Alanstrainor wrote: »

When I was looking at 3 series I had a number of private sellers just hand me the keys and off I went! Couldn't believe it. I obviously don't strike people as the car robbing type:D

They were probably hoping you didn't come back.

visual

Wheelnut wrote: »

Love the play on spelling, subtle and clever!

Wish it was but unfortunately brain wasn't in gear spelling brake

I wouldn't touch a car I couldn't test drive first, and test drive more than once too before handing over money. I like to try push on a bit too, when I was buying my current car I was overtaking etc to try give it a good test.

On the other hand I'd have no problem letting others test my car. I have just thrown the keys to a lad in the past and told him to take it for a spin, as it was a two seater (carvan) and he wanted his mechanic on the test drive.

OREGATO

When I was selling my last car, I had no issues with handing over the keys to the people who came to view it.

If I met near my house, I always offered to give them a route which took in a bit of motorway and some small residential areas with speed ramps etc - just to give the buyer a chance to get a good feel for the car in different driving environments.

On the other hand, I test drove a car before and when I wanted to head for a motorway or dual carriageway on the test drive, the seller started to get a bit nervous and tried to persuade me to take a different route, in the end I took it down a dual carriageway and found that there was a horrendous vibration at 80 kilometres, needless to say, I walked away from the car. It might have been something simple like a buckled wheel or even just tracking/balancing issues, but the sellers actions just put me off the deal completely.

visual

without a test drive it be like buying a pig in a poke.

only time I was a little iffy was when a guy walked to my house and he had no car looking to test drive it without really inspecting it.
I went with him (normally I wouldn't go along) and he drove like he was on a rally stage. I had to say keep within the speed limit and stop revving the ass out of the car. he didn't buy it and I don't think we hit it off either.

But the next day a father and son called. they didn't expect a test drive but I said before offering any money take it for a spin and have a good look around They where chuffed. When they came back about 20 min's later they offered the full asking price. Gave them a little good look money after deal was done. The test drive sold the car.

biko

No way I'd buy (from anyone) without test drive.
Some sellers are more accomodating and don't mind driving from cold to hot, on various roads.
I went to Kerry once for a test drive and the seller had about one litre of fuel in the tank and just let me take it around the block. Needless to say I didn't buy the car (there were other issues too) but pissed me right off.

BMJD

I certainly wouldn't buy without a test drive, you can probably get a good idea about the type of person (and car owner) the seller is from sitting next to them for a while as well.

djimi

Its a hard one to know what to do really. I completely understand people not wanting to buy a car without driving it first, and indeed I wouldnt buy a car without driving it first, but the other side of that is that I am really reluctant to let even people I know drive my car, let alone someone that has just shown up at my house and who may or may not be insured (even if they are insured then chances are itll only be third party which is not a lot of good to me if they decide to start dicking around in the VTEC and wrap it around a tree). I dont know how Id handle it to be honest if I was to sell the car privately.

Anan1

djimi wrote: »

I dont know how Id handle it to be honest if I was to sell the car privately.

That's easy - you'd either get over it or not sell the car privately.

djimi

Anan1 wrote: »

That's easy - you'd either get over it or not sell the car privately.

Most likely the latter to be honest. I dont have open drive, so unless the person can prove beyond doubt that they have fully comp cover on their policy (does such a thing even exist) then I dont think Id take the risk.

Paddy Fields

Only ever bought privately once but it was my first car and I wasn't competent enough so brought a mechanic mate and he drove and cheked it over. Sold twice privately and sat beside one guy and in the back with the other. I'm not trusting enough to hand over keys and say off you go. But if I sold my car privately tomorrow, I'd be very surprised if the potential buyer didn't take it for a spin.

visual

djimi wrote: »

Most likely the latter to be honest. I dont have open drive, so unless the person can prove beyond doubt that they have fully comp cover on their policy (does such a thing even exist) then I dont think Id take the risk.

I have fully comp on my insurance but as with every policy I've had to date it is only for the car listed in policy and 3rd party cover on cars I borrow.
This would be typical of most drivers as very very few would be open drive on any vehicle

bmstuff

You would not marry a woman without testing her first...

Esel

bmstuff wrote: »

You would not marry a woman without testing her first...

> Motorcycling forum.

mgbgt1978

visual wrote: »

I have fully comp on my insurance but as with every policy I've had to date it is only for the car listed in policy and 3rd party cover on cars I borrow.
This would be typical of most drivers as very very few would be open drive on any vehicle

AXA and the AA (as well as a couple of other smaller companies) do offer fully comp on 'driving other cars'.
In some cases you would have to be with them for a number of years, in other's you pay extra for it.
Not usually available to those under certain ages, and to be honest I would imagine very few people have this extention.
It is a hard one to call, as sellers would be relunctant to let somebody drive their car without the back-up of fully comp (or cash in the pocket:))....and buyers will rarely purchase without a test- drive.

visual

Regardless of insurance if a seller wasnt prepaired to allow a decent test drive there is no way I would be buying the car.

I think many have forgotten (including myself) if the seller has fully comp insurance then his car is covered on sellers own policy. If car hasn't then it's unreasonable to expect a potential buyer to insure someone elses car that they may never buy.

With regard to the buyer having insurance does it really matter ? I seriously doubt it. The worse case a garda stops him no insurance car might and I say might be impounded. But owner could get it back at small cost.

If buyer crashes it its more likely you'll not be able to claim from buyers insurance. A 3rd party might but not the seller. If it brakes down and needs to be towed you can be dam sure the buyer is not going to pay for that.

As I'm not employed by the state as garda it's not up to me to enforce traffic laws. So am I just being a busy body asking a seller to prove he/she is legally insured and licenced to drive.

mgbgt1978

Fully comp does not automatically mean that you have 'open driving'.
As for somebody else being caught driving your car without insurance....you are in more trouble than them for allowing somebody drive your car whilst uninsured

ironclaw

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

As for somebody else being caught driving your car without insurance....you are in more trouble than them for allowing somebody drive your car whilst uninsured

I think in most cases common sense would prevail and the explanation that you were on a test drive, easily provable by an Ad or if the buyer had payment etc with them. And any reasonable Garda would wanted to make a point would just ask the owner to take the wheel instead. Not everything is cut and dry, there is room for common sense.

PrettyBoy

Seems that this is a real grey area. Personally I would be reluctant to allow someone to take the car for the spin because if anything does happen then it's me that will be in trouble. I guess there's no way around it, you just have to take the risk and let anyone drive it despite the fact that they are not insured to.

What about stating in the ad that a test drive won't be possible unless a cash deposit is handed over?

visual

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Fully comp does not automatically mean that you have 'open driving'.
As for somebody else being caught driving your car without insurance....you are in more trouble than them for allowing somebody drive your car whilst uninsured

The presumption is you don't have open drive.
I'm referring to a no fills comprehensive insurance that most drivers would buy.

Esel

visual wrote: »

As I'm not employed by the state as garda it's not up to me to enforce traffic laws. So am I just being a busy body asking a seller to prove he/she is legally insured and licenced to drive.

I think you can be prosecuted for allowing someone to drive without insurance though.

Anan1

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Seems that this is a real grey area. Personally I would be reluctant to allow someone to take the car for the spin because if anything does happen then it's me that will be in trouble. I guess there's no way around it, you just have to take the risk and let anyone drive it despite the fact that they are not insured to.

What about stating in the ad that a test drive won't be possible unless a cash deposit is handed over?

What does a cash deposit have to do with insurance? You make sure they're insured before letting them drive.

djimi

visual wrote: »

I think many have forgotten (including myself) if the seller has fully comp insurance then his car is covered on sellers own policy. If car hasn't then it's unreasonable to expect a potential buyer to insure someone elses car that they may never buy.

Fully comp would only cover the seller to drive the car unless they have specifically covered the buyer as a named driver (or they have open driving). Open driving is far from common and its fairly unlikely that you would put the buyer as a named driver on your policy.

PrettyBoy

Anan1 wrote: »

What does a cash deposit have to do with insurance? You make sure they're insured before letting them drive.

Well if this thread is anything to go by it would seem that most people are happy enough to let potential buyers drive their car without insurance.

I just think if you made it clear that the car will not be test driven without a cash deposit it might make it clear who's serious about buying the car the real buyers while deterring the tyre kickers.

Anan1

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Well if this thread is anything to go by it would seem that most people are happy enough to let potential buyers drive their car without insurance.

I just think if you made it clear that the car will not be test driven without a cash deposit it might make it clear who's serious about buying the car the real buyers while deterring the tyre kickers.

And what if someone pays you a deposit and then writes off your car while uninsured?

Gary ITR

Depends on the circumstances, I tried to buy my Integra without a test drive, the seller (member from here) insisted I meet up and test drive before we do a deal. I can be very impulsive lol

When I bought the Civic I brought it on a tour of North Dublin though. It's very easy to tell if a car is decent or not in a very short space of time

PrettyBoy

Anan1 wrote: »

And what if someone pays you a deposit and then writes off your car while uninsured?

Well if the car is written off on the test drive then it's better to have a €500 deposit in your pocket than to have nothing at all.

That's besides the point anyway. I was really trying to see what other people thought of allowing a stranger to test drive your car with no insurance and it seems that most here are OK with it and willing to take the risk of being stopped by the guards or the car being damaged/written off.

Anan1

Anan1 wrote: »

And what if someone pays you a deposit and then writes off your car while uninsured?

95% of people are only going to have 3rd party cover anyway so as far as your car is concerned it doesn't matter, it's not covered either way.

Gary ITR

I would insist on 3rd Party Insurance though. If my car gets written off fair enough, I operate the you bend it you buy it rule (I'm aware the buyer can renege on it) but I don't think I could live with the guilt of allowing an uninsured person drive my car and injure another person.

When I sold my Civic the chap who bought it had no insurance so best compromise was me driving him around in it. I took him for a good long spin and he bought the car, got it insured then collected it

deegs

Had a guy make an offer on my car subject to a suitable test drive through all the gears at relevant speed on a few main roads. Fair enough I thought, he was a family man in his mid forties so no bother. I said just bring me proof that your insurance covers you for comp on my car and we can do that. He said... actually I've only a provisional and have only been driving from a few months so couldn't comply... I said you can sit in the passengers seat and I'll take you where you want but he couldnt drive.

But, he was serious about the car so we did just that and it was fine...

Proof of THEIR insurance cover or no deal at all!

Anan1

PrettyBoy wrote: »

That's besides the point anyway. I was really trying to see what other people thought of allowing a stranger to test drive your car with no insurance and it seems that most here are OK with it and willing to take the risk of being stopped by the guards or the car being damaged/written off.

Blaise Fit Trainee wrote: »

95% of people are only going to have 3rd party cover anyway so as far as your car is concerned it doesn't matter, it's not covered either way.

It's a quick phone call to add either open driving or a named driver. Why would you take the risk of allowing a stranger to drive your car uninsured?

Anan1

Anan1 wrote: »

It's a quick phone call to add either open driving or a named driver. Why would you take the risk of allowing a stranger to drive your car uninsured?

It also will cost money to add open driving and will more than likely cost money to to add them as a named driver for the sake of a few minutes drive it's too much hassle (and a risk I'd be willing to take). The vast majority of people are covered 3rd party anyway as I said, I also haven't seen a policy in years that didn't have driving other cars or are you suggesting that you wouldn't let someone drive your car with 3rd party cover only.

To be totally honest I have let people test drive a carvan I was selling a few years back which they definitely wasn't insured on as driving other cars doesn't cover commercials, to be honest i didn't even think about that side of things for test drives. It's only reading this thread that got me thinking back over it.

Anan1

Blaise Fit Trainee wrote: »

It also will cost money to add open driving and will more than likely cost money to to add them as a named driver for the sake of a few minutes drive it's too much hassle (and a risk I'd be willing to take). The vast majority of people are covered 3rd party anyway as I said, I also haven't seen a policy in years that didn't have driving other cars or are you suggesting that you wouldn't let someone drive your car with 3rd party cover only.

To be totally honest I have let people test drive a carvan I was selling a few years back which they definitely wasn't insured on as driving other cars doesn't cover commercials, to be honest i didn't even think about that side of things for test drives. It's only reading this thread that got me thinking back over it.

I have open driving on my own policy - from memory, it costs around 10% of the premium. If I didn't have it, I'd add it for the few weeks I was selling the car. If it wasn't available then I probably would let the right person drive third party only, but not uninsured.

PrettyBoy

Anan1 wrote: »

It's a quick phone call to add either open driving or a named driver. Why would you take the risk of allowing a stranger to drive your car uninsured?

Don't think too many people would bother calling their insurance company and adding to their premium for the sake of a 5 minute test drive. The attitude here really is "it's only up the road and back, it'll be grand".

Anan1

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Don't think too many people would bother calling their insurance company and adding to their premium for the sake of a 5 minute test drive. The attitude here really is "it's only up the road and back, it'll be grand".

Who cares what the attitude here is? It's your car.