Should Test Drivers Be Required to Have Insurance?

If you’ve ever sold a car online or through the newspaper you know what a hassle it can be.  But often it’s the best way to get the most bang for your buck and in the quickest amount of time.  Most people sell cars themselves because they need the cash or the offer they’re getting from the dealer isn’t as high as they’d like.  I’ve sold a few cars in the past and ultimately things worked out great.  But there were definitely some issues along the way that could have caused potential problems.

One of the main problems that continues to come up is the buyer wanting to take the car for a test drive.  Obviously it makes sense for them to try out the product before they spend thousands of dollars on your car, but what if they get into an accident or cause damage to your car?  It’s important to know the rules as to who would be at fault in certain situations.

Who’s Liable in an Accident?

If you decide to let a potential buyer test drive your car it can be confusing in case of an accident.  Will the driver’s insurance cover the accident or will the vehicle’s insurance cover the accident?  In an at fault situation, your vehicle policy will be the only one that can provide coverage.  So even if your test driver is completely at fault, it will be your insurance rates that suffer.

What About Traffic Violations?

Let’s say that not only was the potential buyer of your car involved in an accident, but he also got a ticket while doing so!  Luckily for you, any driving violations recorded by the driver will not be reported to the vehicle’s insurance.  Instead, traffic violations are always directly tied to the driver so that any violations he incurs while driving your car will go onto his record and not yours.

What’s the Solution?

If you’re set on selling your car yourself then the simplest solution is to not allow buyers to test drive your car.  This might work for some people, but most buyers will have to test drive before they buy.  Instead, you could get take your car off your policy and use a service like Insure 4 a Day or another temporary type insurance service that would provide short term insurance.

This is probably the best solution since it provides a cheap alternative in case of an accident.  You don’t want your rates to go up just because some test-driver crashed your car!

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Readers, what do you think about getting insurance for a test-drive?  If you were selling your car online or through a newspaper, would you require test buyers to provide their own insurance or would you probably just take your chances?