Letting private buyers test drive expensive cars?

[MattVXR87]

Got a gent coming to view my M5 which is up for sale at £26k, seems nice enough but obviously you never know.

he has not asked about test driving it, now i think its unreasonable to expect someone to buy such a car without test driving it, so i will allow him to do it as long as he can prove he has fully comp insurance for the value of the car.

however im still a bit nervous, i have no idea of his previous driving experience. and with the best intent in the world, accidents happen. i'm nervous of him (or anyone else for that matter) smacking the car into a curb, speed bump, burning out the clutch etc.

is it unreasonable to ask for a deposit beforehand? please advise

[homerjay]

I let someone test drive my Subaru a few years back and someone ran in the back of us. Not his fault but his st driving didn't help.

Didn't buy the car and I was left a 3rd party claim and repair to sort out.

I suggest letting him drive when it's quiet

Edited by homerjay on Tuesday 7th September 15:09

[ADEuk]

Go to a quiet industrial estate and try there. All a potential buyer should be checking is that the brakes pull up square, steering aligned ok clutch not slipping etc etc. No need for any high speed silliness to check that lot

[eztiger]

ADEuk said:

Go to a quiet industrial estate and try there. All a potential buyer should be checking is that the brakes pull up square, steering aligned ok clutch not slipping etc etc. No need for any high speed silliness to check that lot

When I bought my Monaro did exactly this. Chap drove, with me in the passenger seat, to a quiet shopping centre car park. I was pretty intently watching his driving to ensure he wasn't doing anything obvious to bypass any of the cars foibles. It was a good 10-15 mins drive through a good mix of 30-50 limits, stop start traffic and roundabouts etc.

By the time we actually got to the car park I was pretty happy the car was generally driving ok, and I got in the drivers seat (I was fully insured to do so) and just had a tootle round the car park for a couple of minutes. Made sure the clutch was ok, gears engaged and the brakes worked. The owner didn't give it the beans at any time, and I didn't either as at that point it was still his car. Possible there could have been a rogue issue at certain rpms etc but there's only so much you can do.

Cursory double check of the dash for warning lights and a check of the docs and we then went to the bank to do the money dance.

I had also previously had the car inspected before I turned up.

That was enough for me, I did however know I wanted that model of car. Someone turning up unsure if they want an M5 in the first place and wanting to make sure they like the drive before they buy..different story I guess...

[tim-b]

Can't you (or in this case the buyer) buy special insurance for such cases? I've seen ads for very short policies (i.e. 1 day) but don't remember the details, sorry!

[300bhp/ton]

ADEuk said:

Go to a quiet industrial estate and try there. All a potential buyer should be checking is that the brakes pull up square, steering aligned ok clutch not slipping etc etc. No need for any high speed silliness to check that lot

That kind of goes against the advise for buying a car. A multitude of sins might be hidden by not actually driving it.

[300bhp/ton]

MattVXR87 said:

Got a gent coming to view my M5 which is up for sale at £26k, seems nice enough but obviously you never know.

he has not asked about test driving it, now i think its unreasonable to expect someone to buy such a car without test driving it, so i will allow him to do it as long as he can prove he has fully comp insurance for the value of the car.

however im still a bit nervous, i have no idea of his previous driving experience. and with the best intent in the world, accidents happen. i'm nervous of him (or anyone else for that matter) smacking the car into a curb, speed bump, burning out the clutch etc.

is it unreasonable to ask for a deposit beforehand? please advise

I think a deposit might be off putting.

Proof of insurance and maybe a signed disclaimer (like garages do) would not be out of the question though.

Just draw up a quick contract stating that they agree that they have valid full comp insurance and that should an incident arise (e.g. hitting a curb type of thing) while the vehicle is in their control that they take responsibility. Same for any speeding tickets for the time period of 'x' to 'y' on xx/xx/xx

[PetrolHeadSeb]

I take the potential buyer out in the car myself, if they say they want to check the top end, I'll give them a quick demo (if conditions allow)

Then when I've had enough time to judge whether I trust them enough, I'll either let them drive the last few miles back to my house, or if not, I'll just pull into an industrial estate and let them go for a spin around there.

[ADEuk]

300bhp/ton said:

ADEuk said:

Go to a quiet industrial estate and try there. All a potential buyer should be checking is that the brakes pull up square, steering aligned ok clutch not slipping etc etc. No need for any high speed silliness to check that lot

That kind of goes against the advise for buying a car. A multitude of sins might be hidden by not actually driving it.

I meant for the buyer to test it there

[Deva Link]

MattVXR87 said:

...i will allow him to do it as long as he can prove he has fully comp insurance for the value of the car.

Unless he takes out temporary insurance then it's most unlikely he'll have fully comp to drive other cars.

[300bhp/ton]

Deva Link said:

MattVXR87 said:

...i will allow him to do it as long as he can prove he has fully comp insurance for the value of the car.

Unless he takes out temporary insurance then it's most unlikely he'll have fully comp to drive other cars.

Then you run the risk of losing the car and the money should something happen while they drive.

I guess it's all a case of risk assessment vs pot luck.

[GKP]

As above, temporary cover is available for most cars via the 'net. Tell the buyer you'll refund the cost of the 24 hour premium if he buys the car at the advertised price.

[PetrolHeadSeb]

I personally dislike selling cars privately, purely due to test drive worries like this. Granted I never have anything anywhere near as valuable as an M5, but it's all relative.

Because of this, I always go to the effort of arranging insurance etc when I go to view a car to make it easier for the seller to trust me.

It's amazing / shocking how many sellers don't even bother asking anything about me before just handing me the keys though.

[Deva Link]

PetrolHeadSeb said:

It's amazing / shocking how many sellers don't even bother asking anything about me before just handing me the keys though.

..and so are the stories of people who insist they're fully comp on any car and the seller believes them, only for it to turn out that they're a named driver on their Mum's policy and they're not even covered 3rd party on other vehicles.

[nonuts]

PetrolHeadSeb said:

Because of this, I always go to the effort of arranging insurance etc when I go to view a car to make it easier for the seller to trust me.

How? Because the issue I've seen is that nobody will offer temp cover on anything over insurance group 18...

[balls-out]

I always make it clear before we start - you break it you buy it.

[chard]

Ask for driving licence (proof of ID + Somewhere to send speeding tickets to)

The biggest worry is the buyer taking off with the car

Edited by chard on Tuesday 7th September 16:09

[Fidgits]

I wouldnt buy a performance car without test driving, so when i sell them, i think the same...

The simple way i work it is, I ask them to pay for dayinsure for a fully comp insurance - its £15 there or thereabouts, which if they are serious about the car, they wont mind stumping up, and in return they get a much longer test drive..

of course, its horses for courses, some people are content nipping around the corner, or not really driving at all... but the last thing you want are test pilots nailing your P&J and you being left with the bill..

[Eddh]

balls-out said:

I always make it clear before we start - you break it you buy it.

Exactly that is how I work as well.

When I bought my R6 I went to see it and left a £100 deposit. We then agreed I could test ride it when I came back with the full amount. Returned with the full amount in cash and handed it over, took it for a spin just to make sure I was happy and then sorted out the paper work.

I would expect it to work on a 'you break it you buy it' agreement.

[PetrolHeadSeb]

nonuts said:

...the issue I've seen is that nobody will offer temp cover on anything over insurance group 18...

Oh really? I haven't test driven a car privately which has an insurance group that high so haven't come across that one yet.