Continuous Insurance - is there a grace period?
Discussion
I'm (hopefully) buying a new car tomorrow, but I haven't sold my Mercedes yet.
I've not done this sort of thing since the new regs came in, and figured this is the best place for advice.
Financially it makes sense for me to pay a bit of money to keep my current insurance policy and let it run till the renewal in a couple of months, rather than get a completely new policy (so that when I do renew I have another year's no-claims bonus.) So having 2 cars insured may not be possible
(or can the insurer do both cars for a bit on the same policy?)
Do I need to SORN my Mercedes tomorrow and claim the tax, or can I leave it taxed but not insured for any length of time?
(and if you were to buy a car would it make any difference to you if a car was SORNed)
And finally, does anyone want a Mercedes 300TE-24? :-)
I've not done this sort of thing since the new regs came in, and figured this is the best place for advice.
Financially it makes sense for me to pay a bit of money to keep my current insurance policy and let it run till the renewal in a couple of months, rather than get a completely new policy (so that when I do renew I have another year's no-claims bonus.) So having 2 cars insured may not be possible
(or can the insurer do both cars for a bit on the same policy?)
Do I need to SORN my Mercedes tomorrow and claim the tax, or can I leave it taxed but not insured for any length of time?
(and if you were to buy a car would it make any difference to you if a car was SORNed)
And finally, does anyone want a Mercedes 300TE-24? :-)
londonbabe said:
can I leave it taxed but not insured for any length of time?
Are you really asking this question after the (literally) hundreds of threads on this subject?The car will not be taxed as soon as it comes into your possession, and it's up to you if you choose not to insure it.
But this sort of thing happens every day to lets of people. What did your insurance company say when you asked them if they would insure both cars for a short period?
New car will be taxed, insured MoTed, everything before I drive it away from the dealer!
It's the old car I am wondering about, which will just be parked off-road until sold.
Of course it precludes a road test, but then a buyer wouldn't be insured to drive my car anyway.
I assume (if you don't SORN it) this thing is normally no problem because tax and insurance work in day sized units, so the computer never says 'no'.
I totally forgot to ask if they would do a cross-over on both. I didn't think such a thing existed.
It's the old car I am wondering about, which will just be parked off-road until sold.
Of course it precludes a road test, but then a buyer wouldn't be insured to drive my car anyway.
I assume (if you don't SORN it) this thing is normally no problem because tax and insurance work in day sized units, so the computer never says 'no'.
I totally forgot to ask if they would do a cross-over on both. I didn't think such a thing existed.
When I change my car I never part exchange my old car always sell it privately after I have the new car.
I ring my insurance company to change the policy from my old car to the new one but also tell them that could they keep the old car insured for a couple of weeks or so until I sell it.
This has never been a problem and have done it for free as I normally sell the old car within 2 weeks and if it took longer they charge a small amount.
I ring my insurance company to change the policy from my old car to the new one but also tell them that could they keep the old car insured for a couple of weeks or so until I sell it.
This has never been a problem and have done it for free as I normally sell the old car within 2 weeks and if it took longer they charge a small amount.
londonbabe said:
New car will be taxed, insured MoTed, everything before I drive it away from the dealer!
It's the old car I am wondering about, which will just be parked off-road until sold.
Of course it precludes a road test, but then a buyer wouldn't be insured to drive my car anyway.
I assume (if you don't SORN it) this thing is normally no problem because tax and insurance work in day sized units, so the computer never says 'no'.
I totally forgot to ask if they would do a cross-over on both. I didn't think such a thing existed.
Who's taxing the new car? If it's not you, then it won't be taxed. It's the old car I am wondering about, which will just be parked off-road until sold.
Of course it precludes a road test, but then a buyer wouldn't be insured to drive my car anyway.
I assume (if you don't SORN it) this thing is normally no problem because tax and insurance work in day sized units, so the computer never says 'no'.
I totally forgot to ask if they would do a cross-over on both. I didn't think such a thing existed.
The rules are simple
1. If taxed, a car must be insured
2. If not insured a car must be SORNed
3. A SORNed car can be insured if you want it to be
4. When you buy a car it always comes with no tax now and you can tax it online immediately (with a few exceptions, which everyone will hang their hat on)
5. You don't have to prove insurance now to tax a car, as that is checked separately and continuously
6. When you sell a car it is effectively SORNed as the tax will be rebated to you once the change of owner goes through.
7. Ask your insurer if they can double insure you. They possibly will for a few days or weeks, but unlikely for months.
8. An extra years NCD? How many years have you got now? If you are over 5 (or 7 with some) then it's not another year's NCD, it's just another claim free year, that usually doesn't have much impact on your premium.
OP - you very probably will find that the insurers will not allow your current NCD on BOTH cars you own once you buy the new one for a "couple of months", unless you already have a multicar policy, especially if they are a budget insurer.
In your position I would either sell or SORN the current car and change to the car on the current policy. Your additonal NCD discount will only kick in at the anniversary of the policy, regardless of how many different cars have been insured one at a time on that policy.
In your position I would either sell or SORN the current car and change to the car on the current policy. Your additonal NCD discount will only kick in at the anniversary of the policy, regardless of how many different cars have been insured one at a time on that policy.
londonbabe said:
And finally, does anyone want a Mercedes 300TE-24? :-)
An entire thread of potential purchasers?I've never had a problem getting my insurer to change the policy to the new car and at the same time give me a temporary four week policy on the old car, for a reasonably nominal fee, while I sold the old one.
Only time it got sticky, was when I decided I wasn't sure if I really like the new car after all (various reasons, mostly to do with poor reliability of the new one), but took a few weeks to decide which one to keep and which one to sell on; eventually I did go back to the old one that I still had parked up, this extended the period that I owned two cars at once; Admiral were fine about extending the initial 4-week parallel temporary policy by another 4 weeks but when it got close to 8 weeks total they got a bit arsey and it was obvious they weren't going to allow any further extension easily. It was a bit of a headache at the time as it was only the insurance matters that forced me to choose between the two cars quicker than I would have liked.
Only time it got sticky, was when I decided I wasn't sure if I really like the new car after all (various reasons, mostly to do with poor reliability of the new one), but took a few weeks to decide which one to keep and which one to sell on; eventually I did go back to the old one that I still had parked up, this extended the period that I owned two cars at once; Admiral were fine about extending the initial 4-week parallel temporary policy by another 4 weeks but when it got close to 8 weeks total they got a bit arsey and it was obvious they weren't going to allow any further extension easily. It was a bit of a headache at the time as it was only the insurance matters that forced me to choose between the two cars quicker than I would have liked.
Timlocalad said:
Ahem!
Technically 1 is incorrect - A vehicle can only be taxed if it is insured
Nope. Insurance is not checked at point of purchasing tax any more. Legally the car must be insured and this is continually checked now, hence why it is no longer needed at point of sale of tax. Technically 1 is incorrect - A vehicle can only be taxed if it is insured
It is though physically possible to tax an uninsured vehicle. There obviously is no benefit in doing so though.
LoonR1 said:
Or 8. All of which were correct and it made it nice and simple, as it covered, SORN, tax, insurance and NCD
Well if we are going to be picky, I'm not convinced about #6. The car is neither sorned nor taxed once it has been sold until the new keeper does one or the other.Bert
BertBert said:
Well if we are going to be picky, I'm not convinced about #6. The car is neither sorned nor taxed once it has been sold until the new keeper does one or the other.
Bert
Would you like me to have put on every step and which colour envelope to use in the post and how many breaths to take when doing it as well?Bert
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