Can You Tell Me How To Sell A Car?

[Lie-in King]

Hi all - I have a problem that I hope someone can solve for me.

I'm the sole executor of a will, as a result of which I find myself the owner of a car. I know nothing about cars. I've never driven, so have no licence.

The car is uninsured but has both MOT & tax until September & I have the V5 (logbook?) form.

I need to sell the car but have been told it will be impossible to let anyone test-drive it without insurance.

A neighbour asked his company if they would grant him temporary cover for it but they refused.

I've been advised that going through a trade dealer might be possible, as they apparently have "trade insurance" which might make a sale possible, although it would result in a big drop in price.

Is there ANYTHING that AB can think of that will assist me in this? Please use "complete idiot" language in any replies! :-))

I may not be around to reply to any answers immediately, but will check back in later.

As always, thank you for your time & attention.

[woofgang]

When my DH died, i phoned a local used car dealer and explained my situation. It wasn't a car that i could have driven (much too big). I did some looking around first online to see what they went for sold privately and also in the car sale guides. He came and looked the car over and made sure that it would start and we made a deal then and there, he went and got a colleague to come and drive it away. I got a low end of a fair price but it was easy and fast and what i could cope with at the time.
Would any of the beneficiaries like the car as a part of their inheritance?

[hc4361]

I thought the law had changed recently. If the vehicle is declared 'off road' (Sorn'd) it MUST be insured.

If it is Sorn'd it MUST NOT be on the public highway.

Uninsured vehicles
Rules in England, Wales and Scotland
The rules for insuring vehicles are called ‘continuous insurance enforcement’. They mean that if you’re the registered keeper of a vehicle it must be insured or declared as off the road (SORN).

If not, you could:

get a fixed penalty of £100
have your vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded or destroyed
face a court prosecution, with a possible maximum fine of £1,000
It doesn’t matter who is driving the car - if you’re the registered keeper, you could get penalised.

You will also still have to pay for your insurance on top of any fines received.

You can check if your vehicle is insured on askMID.

I thought the law had changed recently. If the vehicle is declared 'off road' (Sorn'd) it MUST be insured.

If it is Sorn'd it MUST NOT be on the public highway.

Uninsured vehicles
Rules in England, Wales and Scotland
The rules for insuring vehicles are called ‘continuous insurance enforcement’. They mean that if you’re the registered keeper of a vehicle it must be insured or declared as off the road (SORN).

If not, you could:

get a fixed penalty of £100
have your vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded or destroyed
face a court prosecution, with a possible maximum fine of £1,000
It doesn’t matter who is driving the car - if you’re the registered keeper, you could get penalised.

You will also still have to pay for your insurance on top of any fines received.

You can check if your vehicle is insured on askMID.

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/uninsured-vehicles

[Khandro]

Chuck, The link you gave relates to legislation from 1988. The modern tendency in the UK is I believe toward insurance of the vehicle not the driver, bringing it in line with the rest of Europe. I may be corrected on this though.

[Lie-in King]

Thank you all for your replies, there's a lot for me to think about.

I do have a rough price guide from checking online, so that's not a problem.

I'll be really busy tomorrow, so may not be around to respond to further replies - please don't think I'm ignoring them.

I'm confident that if (when!) I have more questions about this that you'll come up trumps again.

[Cmitchell]

Trade dealer with trade insurance is your only option as people always want to test drive cars. Better to lose out on some cash than have any agro and worries.

[Lie-in King]

Sincere thanks to everyone that replied - the car is being sold to a dealer at a good price, as it's a friend of a friend.

I hope no-one minds that I haven't given specific details, but I thought them unnecessary in the circumstances.

[tonyav]

Well done L I K.

[Mamyalynne]

Glad you got sorted out, always difficult at times like these.