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Original poster

Would you purchase a private sale car if the owner wouldn’t let you test drive it

32 replies

Septemberintherain · 05/05/2023 18:15

DH is selling his car privately.
He has just declared that he won’t let anyone test drive it unless they can prove they are insured.
This is because a couple of years ago he let a potential purchaser test drive his car, this person assured dh he was insured then drove like a maniac and subsequently admitted he wasn’t actually insured. He was a time waster as he clearly wasn’t even interested in the vehicle.
So, if you were interested in a car which was a private sale would it put you off if the owner wouldn’t allow you to test drive it (obviously DH is happy to drive with them in the car)?

OP posts:
Itsagnomelife · 05/05/2023 18:16

No

IAmNotOkay · 05/05/2023 18:17

Of course it would put me off.
How would I know if I liked driving it if I couldn’t actually have a go?

WitchDancer · 05/05/2023 18:17

I would be thinking there was something to hide if I couldn't drive it so no.

Doggymummar · 05/05/2023 18:17

I wouldn't buy if I couldn't test drive, you can change the insurance briefly to cover any driver though, my landlord used to add me on his car from time to time for Costco runs when he was too busy to go himself

GeraltsBathtub · 05/05/2023 18:18

Why don’t you let people test drive it on the condition they produce a valid licence and proof of insurance?

RandomUsernameHere · 05/05/2023 18:18

No (however I wouldn't purchase any car privately regardless)

Bordey · 05/05/2023 18:18

I would never buy without driving myself. If serious buyer, I'd purchase 1 day insurance (cuvva etc) and prove this. No one in their right mind would buy without driving themselves. Your husband could be hiding clutch /gear/acceleration and braking issues.

DustyLee123 · 05/05/2023 18:18

So the title is misleading as he will let them drive it if they are insured.

Ohmych · 05/05/2023 18:19

Yes this would put me off. I would worry there was something majorly wrong with the car. If he states in advance about it so they can get the documents ready it might not be so bad.

VisionsOfSplendour · 05/05/2023 18:19

My current car I bought without test driving, went for the drive with the seller BUT it's impossible to be definitive I'd judge each situation on its merits, it would be daft to have a blanket rule regardles of the car

SquareRootOfAllEvil · 05/05/2023 18:19

I technically have in the past because I bought a car as a learner so obviously couldn’t test drive, but a family member did the test drive for me.

But, no, either the purchaser or someone else they trust needs to do the test drive, not just the person selling it.

VisionsOfSplendour · 05/05/2023 18:21

Bordey · 05/05/2023 18:18

I would never buy without driving myself. If serious buyer, I'd purchase 1 day insurance (cuvva etc) and prove this. No one in their right mind would buy without driving themselves. Your husband could be hiding clutch /gear/acceleration and braking issues.

I'm perfectly in my right mind and as I said above did just that. I often see an assumption on here that all private sellers are dodgy in some way, that's not the case ime

ErrolTheDragon · 05/05/2023 18:23

I wouldn't buy a car I hadn't test driven.
And I wouldn't want to buy a car unless the vendor had checked that buyers had insurance.

Original poster
Septemberintherain · 05/05/2023 18:23

I have just said to him that you can’t expect someone to come and look at a car then refuse if they want to test drive it.
I have said that if they want to come and look at it then just ask them to pop along with proof of insurance, anyone genuinely interested would be happy to do this.

OP posts:
DappledThings · 05/05/2023 18:24

DustyLee123 · 05/05/2023 18:18

So the title is misleading as he will let them drive it if they are insured.

Exactly. Anyone who isn't insured is more likely to be a pisstaker in general and not a serious buyer. If they are insured he'll let them test drive it so it doesn't matter.

Original poster
Septemberintherain · 05/05/2023 18:26

Yes the title is misleading, I apologise for this I typed in a hurry!

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 05/05/2023 18:26

I don't understand the issue here.
Your DH needs to let potential buyers know up front that they need to bring proof of relevant insurance if they want to test drive the car, otherwise they will have to make do with him driving it.

BigFloppa · 05/05/2023 18:28

There is an app called cuvva that allows you to buy insurance by the hour. I used it to test drive a car. It's really good and it he price is very reasonable. Suggest something like that to your dh maybe.

FatAgainItsLettuceTime · 05/05/2023 18:28

Not even the smallest chance that I would buy a car I couldn't test drive. Having said that I'd be able prove insurance so it wouldn't be an issue.

Brahumbug · 05/05/2023 18:32

If they did drive without insurance, then your DH would be an accessory to the offense as well as liable for any damage they did. When we have sold vehicles then we have allowed accompanied test drives, but only after they have produced evidence of fully comprehensive cover for the car.

bornintheuk2 · 05/05/2023 18:33

We were in that position a few years ago. We drove 40+ miles to see the car and then when we got there we couldn't drive it. We got past that, agreed a price and then cos they would only accept cash we sorted that out. THEN she said she didn't have the documents. No service history! Nothing. Took over a month to get to that point. T*at.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/05/2023 18:35

Why don’t you let people test drive it on the condition they produce a valid licence and proof of insurance?

Yes, this is the obvious solution and fair to both parties.

A car that's for sale (unless advertised as spares/repairs), but you aren't allowed to test-drive it, is the motoring equivalent of a bloke on OLD who has 6 kids with 6 'crazy-psycho exes who refuse to let him see them'.

lashy · 05/05/2023 18:36

No

Littlegoth · 05/05/2023 18:36

If you let anyone test drive it and they aren’t specifically insured to drive your car then they are driving uninsured.

it’s been a long time since people were covered 3rd party for any car under their own fully comp insurance. When I was learning to drive 12 years ago one of my friends lost his licence and had to redo his test as he was under 2 years from pass date when he was caught out by this.

Original poster
Septemberintherain · 05/05/2023 18:38

Everyone’s answers have confirmed exactly what I said to DH. I wouldn’t buy a car if I couldn’t test drive it myself and I know he wouldn’t either. We will check out the insurance app several of you have suggested or ask them to come with proof of insurance.

OP posts: