Fri 4 Jul 2008 17:54 borrowing car from dealer - puggered

Hi, i was wondering who is responsible for such things as insurance, mot etc because i took my car back to where i brought it a few months ago so they can fix it and so i have been given a car to borrow whilst mine is being repaired (even came with for sale sign which has been thrown on passenger seat). So my question is as above, who is responsible for insurance, mot etc, cos i can see its got tax in the window but as for insurance, i know its not covered by my car insurance because that is for my vehicle only and even states in it that it does not include cover for any other cars. hope someone can shine a light on this. thanks Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 18:01 borrowing car from dealer - movilogo

It's strange that you were given the car without any document etc. Whenever I got my courtesy car from my dealer, they gave me a paper saying that I am borrowing their car and covered under their insurance. They are not obliged to offer you insurance though. Sometimes you need to get your own insurance (either from your existing insurer or some other). Some insurance (not the cheapest ones) will cover courtesy car driving under normal policy. MOT/tax, usually dealer's responsibility. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 18:07 borrowing car from dealer - puggered

i asked if i could borrow a car whilst mine being repair and they went outside onto forecourt and looked and then came back and gave me a set of keys for a car and said just borrow that. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 18:40 borrowing car from dealer - rtj70

So you're probably not insured. Put the reg in www.askmid.com and this will confirm it. If you get stopped by the police then it's 6-8 points and upto £5000 fine if it goes to court. Fixed penalty if offered is 6 points and £200 fine. And if dealer knowingly gave car to drive without insurance they will be had too. I'd double check if the dealer is insuring you before you get into problems. You can get cheap short term insurance via Norwich Union for a start. EDIT: Just read you went back months ago - have you been waiting for it to be fixed that long? If not insured and with number plate reading cameras on police cars, poles, etc. you are lucky you've not been had if not insured. But surely you should be asking for your money back or something if not resolved? Edited by rtj70 on 04/07/2008 at 18:42 Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 18:48 borrowing car from dealer - Mapmaker

rjt - I think (though I agree it is unclear from the context) that he BOUGHT it a few months ago! Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 19:33 borrowing car from dealer - David Horn

Knowing someone who's been in a similar situation, it turned out in the end that the legal onus was on the garage to provide insurance, not the driver. This happened after the car was lent out to someone whose insurance didn't cover them 3rd party in other cars, and the inevitable happened and they had an accident. :-( Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 19:49 borrowing car from dealer - puggered

Yes i had problem with car a while back but this was for different fault to which they had car for ages and i had borrowed car from them at that time and to be honest i didnt think to much about insurance etc cos my old insurance i found covered driving other vehicles but since then i have changed insurance companies and have found this doesnt cover me driving other vehicles. Second fault on vehicle has appeared, so have taken back, it was only when talking to someone that they said you know you might actually not be insured on that car cos thats why dealers use trade plates when you roadtest a vehicle before you buy it. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 20:17 borrowing car from dealer - spikeyhead {p}

I'll give you an idea about how serious driving with no insurance is. Suppose, whilst driving down the road, you have an accident that seriously injures someone. Should you break my leg and I can't work for three months then that would cost you, personally, between twenty and forty thousand pounds. And that's not even a very serious injury, just the sort of thing that would result from colliding with a pedestrian at 20mph. A single person that needs round the clock care for the rest of their life? You personally will be legally responsible for the cost of that care. NEVER EVER get into a car without making sure that you are insured to drive it. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 20:36 borrowing car from dealer - Lud

On the one and only occasion that I was given a car to test by a magazine, I was simply handed the keys, told where it was, encouraged to rev its nuts off or near enough, asked to have it valeted before bringing it back and urged to charge everything and keep the receipts. I asked about insurance and was told all that stuff was covered automatically. I must say there's a lot to be said for that sort of motoring. No doubt HJ will assure us it palls in the end though. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 21:16 borrowing car from dealer - Cymrogwyllt

checked my policy and driving other cars third party is no longer there. knew that. loan car from repairer up to 7 days while the car is under repair is covered on mine. Had cause to borrow a car so phoned them just to make sure. Supplied reg no and that was that. Was also told that, on request, more than 7 days was not a problem if they were kept informed. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 21:18 borrowing car from dealer - Cymrogwyllt

should have added that I have open driving i.e. any driver over 25 on my car. only £30 more than self only. small price to pay for piece of mind in an emergency Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 22:01 borrowing car from dealer - Robin Reliant

I believe that in certain circumstances the law accepts that you are an innocent party if you are not insured to drive a vehicle, but you are deemed to have reasonable cause to assume that it was insured. This covers employees who are given a firms vehicle or a hire car where it would be considered unreasonable to have to check the insurance certificate every time they drove it. I am not sure how this presumption that you are covered would apply in a in a courtesy car from a trader, but no hire firm or employer has ever offered me a look at the cover note before letting me loose on the road, and I doubt if anyone ever asks in those circumstances. When I was an ADI I certainly never offered proof of insurance to a pupil, and I would assume that if I had been pulled and found not to be insured it would have been soley down to me. One of the forum's legal brains would no doubt be able to clarify this. Edited by Robin Reliant on 04/07/2008 at 22:02 Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 4 Jul 2008 22:49 borrowing car from dealer - SuperBuyer

I asked this question (about insurance, and specifically is it on the MID) when my mechanic (who has about 75 cars for sale at any one time) lent me a car whilst repairing mine - and he told me that they're all covered under his insurance, and he's got 14 days to get the car onto the MID. And when one of our fleet drivers borrows a car from him, they are covered under his insurance and the company insurance, so thats no problem. I tend to get the better cars than they do though.... Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 6 Jul 2008 16:11 borrowing car from dealer - puggered

hi, thanks for all your replies. in regards to insurance, i rang up my insurance company and told them, they issued me with temporary cover for the loan vehicle at no extra cost. so thats a bonus. i'd rather be over insured than under insured. Reply | Report as offensive | Link