Selling without insurance

CPTM

Hi folks, I have a 07 Audi, not very high mileage. It drives perfectly but there is an engine light on which has been confirmed by the garage before as being a problem with the sensor light, and not the engine at all.

I don't have a need for a car anymore, and I want to sell it. The problem is that the insurance is now expired, and so I cannot drive it to the garage to get a pre-sell service, and nobody can test-drive it. Does any one have any advice?

Someone recommended to approach my local garage, ask them to collect the car, give it a quick service, and use the garage insurance disks to sell it in return for 25% of the sale price.

Any other ideas? I'll be honest, I'm prepared to take a 25% hit on the car.

bazz26

Why not just forget about servicing it if your selling it? Tell the buyer it needs a service and reduce the asking price accordingly? Spending money on a car your selling is the same as just reducing the asking price by the amount you were going to sell it by.

CPTM

Do you think I'd find a seller that would buy without test-driving it? Am I right in thinking that if I'm not insured to drive the car, then nobody is?

Maybe it's worth a try. It was serviced at the end of last year, new tyres fitted, new timing belt. It has a lot going for it, but I think a buyer would be put off by the engine light (Even though the garage service notes say that it's just a sensor light and nothing more).

emeldc

I'd ask the garage to collect it and just fix the sensor. I think the insurance issue is really for the new buyer as long as you make it clear that you have no cover. Some drivers have a 'driving other cars extension' as long as the car doesn't belong to them so they could be covered under that. But get the light fixed or you'll never sell it at your asking price.

CiniO

Few points op.

1. It's not standard practice to be servicing a car before private sale. Normally new owner would do a service on it if he decides to buy. Most cars advertised on donedeal were serviced a while ago or are due now or overdue. No need to reduce a price to reflect fact that it needs servicing.

2. Even if you had insurance on it, it would make no difference for potential buyers for test drive, as they wouldn't be covered by your policy anyway (unless you had open driving policy which are very rare).
Just ask potential buyer if they have a policy covering driving other cars, and if they do they can test drive it being covered by their own policy. Thats how it works.
Except that sellers asking for proof of insurance from a potential buyer is probably very rare (i.e I must have test driven over 100 cars over last 10 years, and was never asked for proof of insurance policy)

3. What is a sensor light?

newmember2

Sell it the way it is now.
It's the buyer who needs insurance to drive the car - not you.

biko

I'd get the EML issue fixed.
A buyer won't know for sure it's not the engine and it may put them off.

FishOnABike

Any time i've test driven a car I was thinking of buying it was under the 'driving other cars' terms of my own insurance policy.

Henry Ford III

Not sure I'd bother servicing a car just to sell it immediately afterwards - is the service overdue?

I would get the warning light dealt with however. That'd put off many potential buyers.

Insurance wise it's up to the potential buyer to have cover in place. Explain that your cover has expired and ask them clarify they have a policy in effect to cover your car.

PrettyBoy

CPTM wrote: »

Someone recommended to approach my local garage, ask them to collect the car, give it a quick service, and use the garage insurance disks to sell it in return for 25% of the sale price.

I've received some bad advice in my time but I'm struggling to think of something that comes close to this.

CPTM

CiniO wrote: »

Few points op.

1. It's not standard practice to be servicing a car before private sale. Normally new owner would do a service on it if he decides to buy. Most cars advertised on donedeal were serviced a while ago or are due now or overdue. No need to reduce a price to reflect fact that it needs servicing.

2. Even if you had insurance on it, it would make no difference for potential buyers for test drive, as they wouldn't be covered by your policy anyway (unless you had open driving policy which are very rare).
Just ask potential buyer if they have a policy covering driving other cars, and if they do they can test drive it being covered by their own policy. Thats how it works.
Except that sellers asking for proof of insurance from a potential buyer is probably very rare (i.e I must have test driven over 100 cars over last 10 years, and was never asked for proof of insurance policy)

3. What is a sensor light?

Thanks for that. Sorry, I meant sensor, not sensor light! So in other words, the part that detects an issue has a defect, and needs to be fixed. They can switch it off but it comes back on after 20km or something. They've checked what the sensor is pointing at and everything is normal.

Regarding point 2, my understanding was that drivers with fully comp (or whichever insurance allows them to drive another vehicle) could only do so if the other vehicle was insured by someone. But, I'm happy to be be corrected on that front!

CPTM

PrettyBoy wrote: »

I've received some bad advice in my time but I'm struggling to think of something that comes close to this.

Hi PrettyBoy - This isn't a high value car. With the 07 reg, the market value seems to be around 4000, so it's not like 1000s in the difference when it comes to giving the garage a different percentage rate. However, I'm going to do it differently since getting advice on this thread.

CPTM

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Not sure I'd bother servicing a car just to sell it immediately afterwards - is the service overdue?

I would get the warning light dealt with however. That'd put off many potential buyers.

Insurance wise it's up to the potential buyer to have cover in place. Explain that your cover has expired and ask them clarify they have a policy in effect to cover your car.

Thanks for this.. Yes, I think everyone is recommending the same, and it's good advice. I thought me having no insurance was a problem, but obviously not. I'll get the garage to fix the light and I'll sell it on after that. It was serviced in November with no issues found except for the sensor again.

FishOnABike

CPTM wrote: »

Regarding point 2, my understanding was that drivers with fully comp (or whichever insurance allows them to drive another vehicle) could only do so if the other vehicle was insured by someone. But, I'm happy to be be corrected on that front!

It depends on the small print in the policy.

Some policies do have the condition that the other car must also be insured under its own policy, possibly to stop people insuring a cheap to insure car in their own name and using a high performance car 'owned by a friend' as their daily driver.

My policy covers other cars once I don't own them or I'm not renting them.

I've test driven cars using the driving other cars cover but as soon as cash changed hands I had to either arrange a temporary transfer or temporary additional vehicle cover to be able to legally drive it away.

CPTM

FishOnABike wrote: »

It depends on the small print in the policy.

Some policies do have the condition that the other car must also be insured under its own policy, possibly to stop people insuring a cheap to insure car in their own name and using a high performance car 'owned by a friend' as their daily driver.

My policy covers other cars once I don't own them or I'm not renting them.

I've test driven cars using the driving other cars cover but as soon as cash changed hands I had to either arrange a temporary transfer or temporary additional vehicle cover to be able to legally drive it away.

I suppose it's about making sure the test driver knows the full situation and making sure they're comfortable that they are insured.

bidiots

CPTM wrote: »

Someone recommended to approach my local garage, ask them to collect the car, give it a quick service, and use the garage insurance disks to sell it in return for 25% of the sale price.

CPTM wrote: »

Hi PrettyBoy - This isn't a high value car. With the 07 reg, the market value seems to be around 4000, so it's not like 1000s in the difference when it comes to giving the garage a different percentage rate. However, I'm going to do it differently since getting advice on this thread.

jinkybhoy

Regarding point 2, my understanding was that drivers with fully comp (or whichever insurance allows them to drive another vehicle) could only do so if the other vehicle was insured by someone. But, I'm happy to be be corrected on that front

Doesn't have to be fully comprehensive but most policies give the driving of other cars but it's normally third party only - so if they write off your car on the test drive - no cover for damage to your car.

Some companies do have comprehensive driving other cars but it's not the norm.

CPTM

bidiots wrote: »

1000s. There was an 's' thank god. After fixing the light, servicing it (they'd probably want to) and going out on spins with the test drivers, and also taking on the risk of issues down the road if the car fell apart after a day, I think 800 - 1000 euro would be the least the garage would be asking for. And even at that I reckon most garages wouldn't. But anyways, I have a garage collecting it on Friday to fix the light. And they'll drop it back to me. Hopefully that'll be it, ready to sell..