Buyer's Guides
Is my potential buyer insured?
Any buyer worth their salt, and one who is serious about buying your car, will want to take the car for a test drive.
Nerve-wracking as this is, you can't avoid it - but you can make sure you're covered in case of a shunt. Here's some stuff you should know:
Nerve-wracking as this is, you can't avoid it - but you can make sure you're covered in case of a shunt. Here's some stuff you should know:
- The onus is on you, the seller, to make sure any buyer is insured to drive your car during a test drive.
- Check with your own insurance company to find out if other drivers are covered, which is unlikely, or if your insurance is invalidated by someone else driving it, which is far more likely.
- Ask to see any buyer's insurance certificate to check they are insured to drive other cars with third-party cover. This is the bare minimum legal requirement and also means if they damage your car you will not see a penny from their insurers.
- If you're not happy with a buyer's credentials for a test drive, politely decline to let them drive and take them for a spin yourself.
- If a buyer is caught by a speed camera when test driving your car, make sure you have their details, and the time and date of every test drive taken so you can pinpoint who was driving. Otherwise, you'll be taking the rap for their offence.