Wants a test drive but no insurance

[Snowboy]

On an expensive powerful car; I'd want them to be insured fully comp.
On a cheap car, I wouldn't care so much.

When I sold my S2000 I gave it a book, he drove back sensibly.

A serious buyer won't mind a £50 day policy if they are planning on buying that day.
Iirc, when I bought the S I had the policy all arranged; but not paid for, then called the broker to confirm I wanted it active after I'd checked the car and decided I wanted it.

[Escy]

Gruber said:

Seriously?

When people come out with the line "I've only got £xxx on me", they're almost always lying and any sensible seller knows that.

If you're a crap negotiator, then that's a different issue.

OP - you're being entirely reasonable. I've let prospective buyers drive on TPO cover before, but only on cheap, easy to drive cars. There's no way I'd let a buyer drive something like a TVR without either proof of cover or cash in hand.

Seriously. Give me the full asking price for my car prior to agreeing a price and see how much you can negotiate back.

A crap negotiator says "here's all my money, can I have a little bit back please"

[MethylatedSpirit]

Here's what I did when selling the chim


Check insurance certificate for 3rd party cover (sent via e-mail). Call up insurance company on the viewing day to confirm cover.

All cash in my hands before test drive with the understanding the he'll get it back after the test drive (can still negotiate before the test drive though). And with 3rd party insurance confirmed I went inside for a cuppa and told him he can take as long as he wants, or take it to a local garage to look under. AFAIK he went a trip up loch lomond!

Edited by MethylatedSpirit on Sunday 7th September 20:48

[V8RX7]

Escy said:

Seriously. Give me the full asking price for my car prior to agreeing a price and see how much you can negotiate back.

A crap negotiator says "here's all my money, can I have a little bit back please"

I hand over a bag of money - I return the car and I get it handed back.

I then negotiate the price based on any faults found and how much I want to own that car.

I can see from your vast Garage section that you are a wealthy man who is clearly a skilled negotiator.

Pray tell us more.

I've only owned two hundred or so cars and have lost money on 3 in the last 25 years - please help me improve.

[Rick101]

Sensible actions OP.

Just be aware even with fully comp cover, doesn't necessarily mean he even has 3rd party on yours.

My last policy with Allianz was exactly that. What I did was add the 'DOC' cover when I was looking to buy. Even then it only covered third party risk.

Demo drive or payment in full.

[brickwall]

I had this problem on a much less glamorous car.

Lady comes to view, and asks if she can drive it, to which the reply is "sure, please just show me some proof you'll be fully comprehensively insured to do so."

She gets very angry and storms off. Bizarre.

[thecremeegg]

When buying my current car I looked at probably 5 or 6 before I purchased. Sod paying 50 quid each time I went to look at one! I'm insured third party, that should be enough.
No wonder the guy was pissed, I would have been too! The one time I bought a car without viewing the clutch was ****ed

[hairykrishna]

Escy said:

That's great. The seller knows you have the full asking price as it's in his hands already. That puts you in the worst negotiating position possible. Only a mug would do that.

I generally assume that anyone looking at a car is able to pay the full asking price.

[Gruber]

Escy said:

Seriously. Give me the full asking price for my car prior to agreeing a price and see how much you can negotiate back.

A crap negotiator says "here's all my money, can I have a little bit back please"

You've never tendered for a commercial property deal, have you?

[Escy]

V8RX7 said:

I can see from your vast Garage section that you are a wealthy man who is clearly a skilled negotiator.

[Escy]

hairykrishna said:

Escy said:

That's great. The seller knows you have the full asking price as it's in his hands already. That puts you in the worst negotiating position possible. Only a mug would do that.

I generally assume that anyone looking at a car is able to pay the full asking price.

I've never paid the asking price

[Gruber]

thecremeegg said:

I'm insured third party, that should be enough.

So as the seller I'm just supposed to trust you that you'll pick up the bill for the repair if you crash into a tree? Hmmm... No offence and nothing personal, but no thanks.

[Axionknight]

Gruber said:

You've never tendered for a commercial property deal, have you?

You make it sound like he is in a minority....

[Gruber]

Axionknight said:

You make it sound like he is in a minority....

Not intentional. Apologies. Just making the point, perhaps obliquely, that there are many ways to skin a cat.

[Escy]

I buy and sell cars all the time but I obviously need to learn about this cash thing. Especially if i'm going to tender for a commercial property with the bag of cash technique.

You hand over a bag of money for the full asking price to the seller prior to the test drive. Is it counted at this point? If it is counted, you then need to count it again when it's handed back to you just incase the seller is iffy. That's a lot of counting if the car is expensive. If you don't count it, there's no point, it may as well be monopoly money or 5 grand short for all the difference it makes.

What happens if the buyer wants to pay via bank transfer?

Is handing over the cash a legally binding contract? What happens if the buyer is built like a brick outhouse and he's got 4 mates waiting in his car, he crashes your car on the test drive and tells you he wants his money back?

What happens if you test drive someones car and it suffers a blow out ending in a crash. Would you say, fair play, keep the cash, i'll take it.

[Terminator X]

Negative Creep said:

Terminator X said:

No one has ever or will ever take my car for a test drive, insurance certificate or not. If I lose a sale so be it. Imagine if the fkers wrecked your PAJ while out on a drive? Even if insured you'd get the square root of fk all back from the robbing bar stewards ...

TX.

You'd never let someone test drive your car? If I went to look at a car and was told that it would be an instant deal breaker, since 99% of the time it will be to disguise the fact the car has something wrong with it

Indeed, read the 2nd sentence.

TX.

[blearyeyedboy]

I tend to find that the more arsy someone is about being told "No", the more I feel I've made the right decision.

Good judgement call, OP.

[Sump]

V8RX7 said:

Escy said:

Seriously. Give me the full asking price for my car prior to agreeing a price and see how much you can negotiate back.

A crap negotiator says "here's all my money, can I have a little bit back please"

I hand over a bag of money - I return the car and I get it handed back.

I then negotiate the price based on any faults found and how much I want to own that car.

I can see from your vast Garage section that you are a wealthy man who is clearly a skilled negotiator.

Pray tell us more.

I've only owned two hundred or so cars and have lost money on 3 in the last 25 years - please help me improve.

You sir are pure "lol" material.

[KM666]

I suppose this is the difference between buying regular cars, where you can expect a solo test drive off the bat with no questions asked, and proper sports cars.

Personally I wouldn't buy without a test drive but that doesn't matter one single bit because I spent £1300 buying my current car. I had the joy of driving a wide range of other similarly budgeted cars before deciding to grace this trader with my huge bag of loot and highly valued custom. If the buying experience trails off as severely as the quality of car shoots up i'll stick with stboxes thank you very much.

[renmure]

Very sensible OP.
Beats me why anyone would do anything different.