Hi all,
My car will be in the body shop for a week come 19th April - someone scraped along the side while it was parked. Fortunately, their boss agreed to pay for repairs!
Unfortunately, the bodyshop can't provide me with a courtesy car due to my age. (18, held license for 1.5 years, no points).
I tried ringing my dad's insurance company to see if they could provide me with a week's cover on his 1.8 Daewoo Leganza, but they said forget it.
Has anyone got any ideas over what I could do? I've no aversion to hiring a car for a week, but I can't imagine anyone agreeing to lend one to an 18 year old, thanks to the appalling driving of others my age.
Is it illegal to contact my own insurance company and asking them to cover me in my dad's car for a week? I suspect that the answer would be yes, as technically the car would be insured twice! Taking public transport is impossible, as no buses run to where I want to go (college) and no one can offer me a lift either as I live in the sticks. Devon County Council refused flat out to give me a temporary pass on a school bus.
I'm a bit stuck, really, as I have an exam that week (the bodyshop can't do anything else for another month, I got in on a cancellation) and do not want to face the cost of a taxi fare the 15 miles to and from college for a week!!
Thanks,
David.
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sod it, buy a cheap 50 quid run around with an MOT, use it for a week without tax and insurance and sell it when you finished. you will at least get your mmoney back.
And before the backlash comes my way, yes i have insurance (in liverpool the highest in the country!), and legit tax (£125 quid for pot hole covered roads) and my car has a brand new MOT!
The reason why i dont have a go at young drivers who are screwed like this, is due to the simple fact i was in a supermarket today, and the row of cars i walked along 3 out of around 18/19 had tax in date!
So as detective kearney, i sat in my car and watched. And would you believe, everyone was owned by a asylum seeker or foreign student. Talking to a guy who goes to uni who is chinese and has a peugeot 405, he was pulled over in tio bout 2 mnonths ago, and the police realising he had no license/tax/insurance etc... let him go within 2 minutes! He said acting as if he knew no english helped, along with his slow driving style while they followed him for half a mile.
Something tells me if that was me or yourself dave horn, we would have the book thrown at us - lose license, car,recieve a big fine and be banned from driving.
Oh how we need a new government sooner because later is to far away.
And the other point - young drivers get screwed for insurance, yep their higher risk nobody disputes this, but surely the government can bring is some sort of scheme to help young drivers have more affordable premiums.
Fat chance, when we have a party in power who hate cars!
As i have stated, the bigger picture is we need a partry in power who preachwes and performs common sense - very unlikely from a left wing socialist party, where if half of them had their own way we would still be driving round and forced to drive and share montegos!!
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btw - was nice to get it of my chest.
Still to much burecracy in the simple purchase of buying and selling cars!
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Or you could tax it and claim the remaining five or eleven months' tax back, and probably insure it if you have a sympathetic insurer for virtually no cost, given that the other car will be off the road.
I know that it's tempting to extract the proverbial, but at least know what you're saving and risking before you do so. Probably far less than the cost of a week's hire in even the nastiest hire car.
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I think you will find they will but at a higher premium.Why dont you ask your dad to insure you on his car.it should be cheaper.the above post I thought well what can you say.?ps I expect an expert to come along.I have a daughter who may be in the same boat in 1 year.
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DaveyK's suggestion about an old banger is probably about the best way to go. However, make sure it's legal and roadworthy: for your own sake as well as others.
I'm sure your insurance company will give you temporary cover on the old banger, if you choose to go down that route. Ensure that your damaged car is fully covered by the garage whilst it's in their care.
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By the way, I presume you meant 19th May, otherwise you have a whole year to wait so it's not that urgent. :)
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D'oh!
Yes, I meant the 19th May. I've already asked my dad's insurers if they can add me as a named driver, but no luck.
I think I'll go down the banger route... enough people drive them, though I will sort out temporary insurance on it. I expect I'll sell my own car when I go to university later this year, I'm not prepared to pay £3500 insurance. I have been a named driver for 2 years, but apparently my insurance company is cracking down on people doing this. (Citroen Xsara 1.9TD, cheapest quote £3500, most expensive £4100, 80% said forget it.)
Thanks for your help.
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David,
At 18 I bought a Xsara HDi 2.0 and my insurance was £1088 with 1yrs NCB I was with Direct Line living in the South East, that was fully comp for me and my dad as a named drive. Try Direct Line or Elephant (my current insurers who seem to be good with young people driving powerful Turbo Diesels)
Chris
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If the other party has already admitted liability and are paying for repairs then I don't think it would be unreasonable for you to ask the third party to pay your taxi fairs for going to college. You shouldn't be out of pocket for their mistake but you need to mitigate your losses so having a taxi for the week seems like a reasonable thing to be recompensed for.
teabelly
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The weather is getting warmer and it is only about a week - you could try using a moped for that short time. Or: most insurance policies allow you to drive a car not owned by you, but give very minimum basic legal insurance cover. If your dad is willing to bear the risk over that short period, that might be a way out ...
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Bit late, actually - I rather belatedly spotted just how old this thread was
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I rather belatedly spotted just how old this thread was
2 days ??
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>>Temporary Car - Fri 30 Apr 04 19:44My car will be in the body shop for a week come 19th April ->>
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A little time to wait or a typo?
I guess it is 19th May.
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Yup, already pointed out!
I just checked the Direct Line site - with 1 year's NCD and a £400 excess (cue eyes popping out) the quote is £1325, which is the best one I've had so far. Only £600 more than me as a named driver.
Interestingly, if I fill in the form to say I'm 25, have a provisional license, and have crashed once in the last year and no voluntary excess, I get a quote of £716. Nice world these insurance companies live in, eh?
Moped is out of the question, sadly, as it's a 20 mile journey along a combination of lanes, a-roads and motorway.
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Sorry about previous post. Must read all before posting!!!
May I suggest you take a big step back and ask - "What am I trying to achieve?"
My answers would be -
1. Take and pass my exams
2. Get the car fixed.
I see 1. as by far the highest priority. So
Cancel or rebook the car repair. >>someone scraped along the side.
(I am assume it is still safe to drive.)
Concentrate on exams in your normal situation.
Drive a familiar car, in the warm without small talk to a taxi driver.
Cut out all these distractions so NO >>Temporary Car - 18 year old.>>
Finding a safe cheap car in a few days in a rural area, Tax insurance, reliability concerns, reselling it etc. is an unwanted stress.
2. is totally non priority"
>>someone scraped along the side. So is it pride or image? It is only metal.
If it is safe to drive then it can be fixed any month.
A less attractive option. Pack up your books and move into a B&B.
Good luck with your studies
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Unfortunately, the bodyshop can't provide me with a courtesy car due to my age. (18, held license for 1.5 years, no points).
Have you tried shopping around for another bodyshop that isn't so stringent on who they lend their courtesy cars to?
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Sadly, yes. All said no under-25s. This one spent 20 minutes on the phone to his insurance company trying to persuade them to cover me, but no dice.
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Henry K. seems to have the best answer; you can do without this sort of inconvenience with your exams looming.
Alternatively, make them pay for your cabs, and you have 20 minutes quiet revision in the back of a cab before the exam. Remember the last hour before your exams is the most important.
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