Married couple getting first car - how should we register?
Discussion
My wife and I both have UK licenses but have never owned a car before, which we plan to change in the next month or so. Joint registration is not allowed and we are in over our heads about registering the car, car tax, insurance etc. My wife will supply the majority of the funds, but because she is foreign and nervous about driving on our side of the road I am likely to do the bulk of the driving for a while, as well as manage admin. It seems as though car insurance quotes cost roughly the same for any combination of us as main driver plus named driver. Wondering if there are any hidden costs or pros/cons to any of the following. Is it better to:
1) register it all in her name, with me just as a named driver under the assumption that she will eventually start driving.
2) give me the funds to buy it in my name as the owner, keeper, and main driver.
3) register her as the owner and me as the keeper and main driver
4) it literally does not matter please stop worrying!
Thanks in advance!
1) register it all in her name, with me just as a named driver under the assumption that she will eventually start driving.
2) give me the funds to buy it in my name as the owner, keeper, and main driver.
3) register her as the owner and me as the keeper and main driver
4) it literally does not matter please stop worrying!
Thanks in advance!
Noidea01 said:
My wife and I both have UK licenses but have never owned a car before, which we plan to change in the next month or so. Joint registration is not allowed and we are in over our heads about registering the car, car tax, insurance etc. My wife will supply the majority of the funds, but because she is foreign and nervous about driving on our side of the road I am likely to do the bulk of the driving for a while, as well as manage admin. It seems as though car insurance quotes cost roughly the same for any combination of us as main driver plus named driver. Wondering if there are any hidden costs or pros/cons to any of the following. Is it better to:
1) register it all in her name, with me just as a named driver under the assumption that she will eventually start driving.
2) give me the funds to buy it in my name as the owner, keeper, and main driver.
3) register her as the owner and me as the keeper and main driver
4) it literally does not matter please stop worrying!
Thanks in advance!
You are the main driver so register everything in your name. End of the day her money is your money and your money is her money. Doesn't actually matter who is paying for the car.1) register it all in her name, with me just as a named driver under the assumption that she will eventually start driving.
2) give me the funds to buy it in my name as the owner, keeper, and main driver.
3) register her as the owner and me as the keeper and main driver
4) it literally does not matter please stop worrying!
Thanks in advance!
You are the main driver so insurance has to be in your name, money can come from any bank account.
Again you are the main driver so the car tax should be in your name, money can come from any bank account.
If you have an accident and police investigate, if your wife then says she rarely drives the car. Then the insurance company can refuse to pay as you are the main driver.
If you need to for financial protection, transfer her money into your sole bank account. That way there is a record of the funds moving across. Reference the Registration number of the car so can be easy to find.
I don't think it matters much who is the Owner and keeper. Making it the same person seems sensible.
There are two things I take into account in my similar situation:
1. The named/main driver is for insurance and can make a difference: my wife and I share a car, and it's slightly cheaper to have her as the main driver than me. Both of us have clean licenses, are fully employed in low risk jobs, and use the car for Domestic & Commuting purposes.
2. Consider No Claims Discount. We both have 9+ years NCD from when we had 2 cars. NCD only last for 2 years before it resets. We reckon that NCD is worth more than the insurance benefit, so we actually swap named driver each year so that we retain NCD.
There are two things I take into account in my similar situation:
1. The named/main driver is for insurance and can make a difference: my wife and I share a car, and it's slightly cheaper to have her as the main driver than me. Both of us have clean licenses, are fully employed in low risk jobs, and use the car for Domestic & Commuting purposes.
2. Consider No Claims Discount. We both have 9+ years NCD from when we had 2 cars. NCD only last for 2 years before it resets. We reckon that NCD is worth more than the insurance benefit, so we actually swap named driver each year so that we retain NCD.
The registered keeper when you are married is not an issue.
Insurance should be in your name OP as you will be the main driver, the insurance company won't be worried which of you is registered keeper on the basis you are married and living together.
I bought my wife a new car a number of years ago and traded in my own car as opposed to hers and I ran her old car as a run around for 12 months, I told the insurance company the car was in my wifes name but I was the main driver and they had no issue with insurance in my name.
Insurance should be in your name OP as you will be the main driver, the insurance company won't be worried which of you is registered keeper on the basis you are married and living together.
I bought my wife a new car a number of years ago and traded in my own car as opposed to hers and I ran her old car as a run around for 12 months, I told the insurance company the car was in my wifes name but I was the main driver and they had no issue with insurance in my name.
Ankh87 said:
You are the main driver so register everything in your name. End of the day her money is your money and your money is her money. Doesn't actually matter who is paying for the car.
You are the main driver so insurance has to be in your name, money can come from any bank account.
Again you are the main driver so the car tax should be in your name, money can come from any bank account.
If you have an accident and police investigate, if your wife then says she rarely drives the car. Then the insurance company can refuse to pay as you are the main driver.
If you need to for financial protection, transfer her money into your sole bank account. That way there is a record of the funds moving across. Reference the Registration number of the car so can be easy to find.
Thank you this is incredibly helpful and really clears things up.You are the main driver so insurance has to be in your name, money can come from any bank account.
Again you are the main driver so the car tax should be in your name, money can come from any bank account.
If you have an accident and police investigate, if your wife then says she rarely drives the car. Then the insurance company can refuse to pay as you are the main driver.
If you need to for financial protection, transfer her money into your sole bank account. That way there is a record of the funds moving across. Reference the Registration number of the car so can be easy to find.
RichALee said:
I don't think it matters much who is the Owner and keeper. Making it the same person seems sensible.
There are two things I take into account in my similar situation:
1. The named/main driver is for insurance and can make a difference: my wife and I share a car, and it's slightly cheaper to have her as the main driver than me. Both of us have clean licenses, are fully employed in low risk jobs, and use the car for Domestic & Commuting purposes.
2. Consider No Claims Discount. We both have 9+ years NCD from when we had 2 cars. NCD only last for 2 years before it resets. We reckon that NCD is worth more than the insurance benefit, so we actually swap named driver each year so that we retain NCD.
Thank you and good to know you are in a similar situation. I assume that throughout the whole time you've been switching the main driver, the registered keeper has remained the same?There are two things I take into account in my similar situation:
1. The named/main driver is for insurance and can make a difference: my wife and I share a car, and it's slightly cheaper to have her as the main driver than me. Both of us have clean licenses, are fully employed in low risk jobs, and use the car for Domestic & Commuting purposes.
2. Consider No Claims Discount. We both have 9+ years NCD from when we had 2 cars. NCD only last for 2 years before it resets. We reckon that NCD is worth more than the insurance benefit, so we actually swap named driver each year so that we retain NCD.
Jamescrs said:
The registered keeper when you are married is not an issue.
Insurance should be in your name OP as you will be the main driver, the insurance company won't be worried which of you is registered keeper on the basis you are married and living together.
I bought my wife a new car a number of years ago and traded in my own car as opposed to hers and I ran her old car as a run around for 12 months, I told the insurance company the car was in my wifes name but I was the main driver and they had no issue with insurance in my name.
Thank you that's really good to know, glad that everything is more straightforward than it seems on paper.Insurance should be in your name OP as you will be the main driver, the insurance company won't be worried which of you is registered keeper on the basis you are married and living together.
I bought my wife a new car a number of years ago and traded in my own car as opposed to hers and I ran her old car as a run around for 12 months, I told the insurance company the car was in my wifes name but I was the main driver and they had no issue with insurance in my name.
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