Selling a car with no tax / insurance

My Mum is now ready to sell the car which my Dad used to use (it's always legally belonged to her even though he was the registered keeper and now she is)

However because my Mum doesn't drive she obviously can't insure the car and therefore can't get tax, so the car is currently SORN'd in the garage.

We want to sell it privately but I'm not sure about the legal aspects of it not having tax or insurance. It's unlikely that someone would want to purchase the car just by starting it up on the driveway, I guess there is no legal way for take it for a test drive since it has no tax? We are quite prepared to buy tax which would let someone drive it on their own third party cover but can't get it without insurance.

Any clues?

Reply to
Mark Hewitt
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Sell it as is. Let the buyer decide whether they want to buy it or not. You'd be surprised how many will. Hell, just look at the amount of cars sold on E-Bay where, apart from a piccie and a description, the buyer han't actually seen the car!

Reply to
Conor

Yebbut having just paid two pounds twenty pence for a Pug 405 diesel with MOT until next July, I feel qualified to say that they don't always go for their full market value!

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

You would typically get less money then tho?

They can start it up on the drive all they want. But if they wanted to take it out for a test drive would I (or my Mum) have to refuse?

Reply to
Mark Hewitt

ROFL.

Reply to
Conor

The bit I found really killing was that I had to outbid two other people! It's just damned lucky the Landrover we towed it with didn't break down a couple of miles from home, so we didn't have to unload the car, hitch the transporter to it and drive it along pulling its own transport. No, officer, that never happened, honest.

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

Feel free to let them, but do have their name and address beforehand, just in case they are flashed while out, also bear in mind that some people just drive away for a quick test drive and never return, so on the few occasions that I have sold something like this, I always say, 'pay for it, take it for a drive, if you don't like it come straight back, with the car/bike undamaged and I will give you the money back'. I used to run a bike shop, one guy bought a bike and came back shortly saying there was a slight noise and would we reduce the price, as I knew the bike inside out and was certain there were no faults, I just gave him his money back and wheeled it back into the shop, he then started bleating that he wanted it really, I refused to let him have it and eventually he went away, he couldn't believe what had just happened, I put the price up by 100 pounds and sold it to the next interested punter within a day or two !!

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

---snip---

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Got to be careful with re no tax/ MOT. You want documentary evidence that the car is sold before they take it on the road. This is not just to protect you from the car being stolen, bent or passing through speed cameras. If you let someone take your car on the road with no tax/ insurance/ MOT, you as the owner can get pinched for aiding and abetting. This happened to me some years ago when I let my brother take out a car that I had stored off road. I ended up with a bigger fine than him.

Regards, Jim.

Reply to
Jim Walsh

Not necessarily.

If they get caught by plod you can be prosecuted for allowing the vehicle to be used without tax and/or insurance.

Reply to
Conor

ROFLMAO. Sounds like you had a good time. So was it worth £2 odd?

Reply to
Conor

Your mother should be able to get insurance, even without a driver's licence, although it can be difficult. Obviously, it would not cover anyone whilst driving, but it would cover the vehicle when parked on road, and should be enough to tax.

It would be easier if she had a provisional licence, as it wouldn't be a special case then.

Unless the car is of significant value, it would be less hassle just to sell it without a test drive. I sold my last car without a test drive. The purchasers didn't want one, even though there was no legal or insurance reason not to.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

Yes. I was going to make that point. I saw a lad in the magistrates court a few years ago who was being done for letting his girlfriend drive his car with no insurance. Unfortunately she did something silly and so his likely fine was going to be hundreds of pounds [1]. If they have insurance which covers driving other peoples cars then ok but they have to prove it to you before you let them on the road.

[1] I didn't hear the full story as I didn't want to be seen obviously eavesdropping.
Reply to
Malc

It's a surprisingly heavy car so should weigh in for at least 60 quid. Also, the tank's indicating nearly half full of diesel. And I should be able to flog a few bits on Ebay - rear spoiler and nearly new radiator, frinstance. So yes, it should has to be worth it, even after I've given all the profit to my mate to go towards replacing the gearbox his Landrover chewed up...

Anyway, it makes a change after sitting in an office all week.

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

The [OT] bit first: rumour has it that the Govt are about to make it illegal to own a car with no insurance even if it has been SORNed. Whether this means all those 15 year old classic car "projects" with no engine or wheels have to be insured, I have no idea.

At the moment the buyer's own insurance MAY allow them to drive it, but some insurers want the car to have its own insurance too. You'll have to look at their certificate of insurance and policy terms.

However, test driving without tax is a complete no-no unless you're going to a prebooked MoT.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

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