Tax and insurance on multiple cars

For the last two years I've been using my 1978 Triumph Spitfire as my only transport, using it every day to commute to work and the like. Needless to say, this type of use has taken its toll and the Spit is now requiring work which will probably keep it off the road for several months. I am looking for a another car to drive around as everyday transport.

I have an offer from my dad to use one of his old Volvos, which my mum wants to get rid of (too old) but he doesn't (not old enough). I was going to borrow it, but keep the ownership details (V5) in his name so I could drive it 3rd party on the Spits insurance. He would then let his insurance lapse, and not renew it.

The problem I can see would be when I came to tax it. Would the Post Office accept the Spit's '3rd party for any vehicle' as valid insurance and issue me with a tax disc, or does the insurance have to be for the car you wish to tax?

Does anybody have any experience of doing this? Any advice would be mush appreciated as ever.

Many thanks,

David

Reply to
David Balfour
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My experience is that the Post Office will question any insurance which does not name the car specifically. For obvious reasons; by doing what you suggest, many (more) people could be driving around in uninsured cars. The requirement to see those documents for taxation is the main, and often only, check that they exist.

It is possible to get cheap classic policies which cover more than one car; they issue separate certificates for each vehicle (I currently have two Riley Elfs and an Austin A30 cobered on the same £103 comprehensive policy).

Reply to
Chris Bolus

Generally speaking, no. The insurance has to be for the vehicle in question. They only time they accept an insurance certificate that does not specify the vehicle is trade insurance (ie any vehicle etc) but the vehicle then has to be registered to the same company/individual.

It's an interesting anomoly, as legally a car in itself doesn't have to be insured, only the driver of the car does. But you can't obtain a tax disc without showing proof that the car is insured. The idea being to stop people obtaining a tax disc if they are not insured. Despite the fact that most people who are genuinuly uninsured don't bother with tax discs in the first place. (Or MOT or a licence, come to that)

You might find a small sub post office with a friendly counter assistant who would agree to issue a tax disc on 3rd party driver cover, but I doubt it.

Incidentally, if you are intending to regularly drive your dad's car on your "3rd party cover" clause, you'd better hope that the insurance comany doesn't find out, as they will invalidate your insurance if you do. The "3rd party cover" clause covers vehicles not owned or hired to you, but there is fine print about you not having permanat use of the vehicle either. It's meant to cover you on the occasional usage, not for full use.

In the long run, far easier, safer and more legal to transfer the insurance to the other car.

Alex

Reply to
Alex

Hi David - I think we've met before on the TSSC group.

You're on dodgy ground with what you're proposing as you'll be on the wrong side of the law in several ways.

Keeping the car in your dads name so you can drive it on your Spitfire insurance is not on as

- you will be committing fraud

- the clause about driving other peoples cars generally only applies if that car's owner has it covered on its own policy so if your dad's policy lapses you won't be covered.

- even if the above doesn't apply, your 3rd party cover will only apply when you are driving the car. If you leave it parked anywhere on the road it won't be covered and that's illegal.

- The Spits insurance policy is irrelevant to any other car and of course cannot be used to tax the insurance. I'm somewhat baffled that anyone would be naive enough to believe this would be possible but suffice to say it is a complete non starter.

If your spit is going to be off the road cancel its policy and pay for one on the Volvo - that way you'll be legal which you're half baked plan most definitely is not.

PS Good luck with getting the SPit back on the road. From the pics on the TSSC I'm surprised it needs to be off road so long.

Reply to
Doug

Hello Doug and everyone that's replied, thanks for all the input.

Presumably because I won't have notified the DVLA of the owner change?

Yes, that's a good point and one that hadn't occurred to me - it could stll cause an accident even when I'm not driving it. So it would need insurance of its own.

Yeez, ok I admit this was a very hastily and badly thought out plan (I'm stuck behind a computer with nobody else to talk to, I have a silly idea, this group is the natural place to be humiliated!) so forgive me if I'm being a bit of a spanner, but the only part that is illegal is that the 'car' has no separate insurance of its own?

Reply to
David Balfour

Nope. That doesn't generally apply at all. Most ins Co's _do_ allow the policyholder to drive a car that is not insured by it's keeper. He would be committing fraud or deception by using the car whilst being the main driver. The clause allowing the use of other cars is specifically limited to occasional or temporary use only. Like borrowing a car whilst yours is being serviced, repaired, broken down etc.

If you're interested, this subject has just been thrashed out in uk.rec.cars.maintenance under 'Dealing With a Car thats off the road'

so if your dad's policy lapses

Nope. When you borrow a car, you are in charge of that car. That means you are responsible for it as long as it's in your possession. That responsibility doesn't end as soon as you walk away from it, apart from when you hand it back to it's owner. If the car, after parking, rolled away and caused an accident or damaged property, you would be held responsible, as the person who allowed it to happen. And you and your insurance would liable for any damage it caused.

Cars do not have or need, insurance against 3rd party claims. However, the law requires that any car on the road, must be in the charge of an insured driver. Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

No, the Registered Keeper bit too. Even if you're not the owner of the car, if you are the primary user, it should be in your name.

I had an IN10 for my efforts when I tried a similar thing with insurance. Don't do it.

Richard

Reply to
Richard Kilpatrick

Richard Kilpatrick ( snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAMbtconnect.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Umm, not so.

Else there'd be an awful lot of company cars illegal - since they're all registered in the lease company's name...

The keeper is the person legally responsible for it. No more. No less.

Reply to
Adrian

There's something funny with fleet numbers there, though. If it's an individual, the keeper is the person using the car. Unless he has a DVLA fleet number?

Richard

Reply to
Richard Kilpatrick

David

Your certificate of insurance will have the registration number of your Spit on it and would not be acceptable at a PO.

Richard snipped-for-privacy@epbyr.bet (ROT13 to e-mail me directly). See

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for most things to do with caravanning.

Reply to
Richard Cole

Bit of a grey area here - I own my E-Type, in that I bought it and maintain it, but for various reasons it's registered in my daughter's name although she's too young to drive it. The DVLA said I couldn't do that, but I've yet to have a problem taxing it at a Post Office. Some insurers weren't too ken, but AON were perfectly OK once I had explained the situation.

Geoff MacK

Reply to
Geoff Mackenzie

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