A potential Insurance difficulty with an SLK

[ARoosterinaRoadster]

Hi again to you all out there. Having looked for an Insurance related thread and not finding one I have resorted to posting here.
Yesterday I secured a rather tidy 59,700 miles 2004 SLK 230 Auto that has been declared a Cat N having suffered damage to the front bumper on the NS.
Because of the Bank Holiday interruption I am unable to contact both my current (BMW 330i Touring Auto) Insurer and DVLA as to how to proceed.
The practice by the insurance companies of not allowing insurance repairs to be carried out with Good Pre-Owned and very very serviceable parts creates a number of situations - not least of all that some insurance companies have been known to make things thereafter rather expensively prohibitive or even refuse insurance on that particular car.
The V5c document has not as yet been stamped by DVLA on the basis that the car was retained by the insurance company and sold on to a specialist repairer that had completed the work and had advertised it as such.
The repairer has not registered the car as his in the interim seemingly because it would increase the Registered Keeper tally albeit only from 3 to 4
The V5c is still in the name of the last registered keeper and not recorded as such a CAT N and as I will become the new keeper/owner and receive the 'New Keeper' Green Slip until the whole new V5c is received by me I am therefore at a loss as to taxing and insuring the car or can this all be carried out on line once I have spoken with my current insurance company.
I have not seen any thing on either an insurance website or the DVLA website that cover my two dilemmas.

 

[Philedge]

Have you actually tried taxing the car online with the reference number off the new keepers slip? I could be mistaken but I think they only check for a valid MOT.

The repairer wont have registered the car as hes classed as a trader and doesnt have to register it

Try taxing it online- you only pay after all the checks are done so theres nothing to loose in trying

 

[ARoosterinaRoadster]

Have you actually tried taxing the car online with the reference number off the new keepers slip? I could be mistaken but I think they only check for a valid MOT.

The repairer wont have registered the car as hes classed as a trader and doesnt have to register it

Try taxing it online- you only pay after all the checks are done so theres nothing to loose in trying

Hi Phil. I haven't completed the purchase yet and as such I do not yet have the New Keepers Certificate.

What do you mean by :-- you only pay after all the checks are done so theres nothing to loose in trying ?

 

[Blobcat]

You only pay the DVLA once they confirm it’s got MOT (they don’t check for insurance anymore...) if that passes happy days

 

[mercmancdi]

You only pay the DVLA once they confirm it’s got MOT (they don’t check for insurance anymore...) if that passes happy days

With us we have to produce insurance at every tax renewal . N.I
Even tax online does not go through unless it shows as insured on data base .

 

[Philedge]

If you have truly "secured" the purchase(paid a deposit), the seller shouldnt have an issue giving you the reference no. off the new keepers slip. You can then apply to tax online and if you get as far as the payment stage then all the checks are ok and you could proceed and pay for the tax.

Personally Id wait until I had insurance in place and was ready collect the car before taxing. If the sale falls through for any reason youll loose a months tax by buying and getting a refund!!

 

[ARoosterinaRoadster]

With us we have to produce insurance at every tax renewal . N.I
Even tax online does not go through unless it shows as insured on data base .

If you have truly "secured" the purchase(paid a deposit), the seller shouldnt have an issue giving you the reference no. off the new keepers slip. You can then apply to tax online and if you get as far as the payment stage then all the checks are ok and you could proceed and pay for the tax.

Personally Id wait until I had insurance in place and was ready collect the car before taxing. If the sale falls through for any reason youll loose a months tax by buying and getting a refund!!

Hi again. Having given some thought to the Tax & Insurance situation I can confirm that I woke up this morning with those same thoughts as you Phil.
I am not sure as to the situation as pointed out by mercmancdi but it actually does make far more sense for the insurance to be in place first because if it should get pinched at least it is covered.

I will ring my current insurer ( my 2001 BMW 330i Touring Auto is with them) and sound them out about the CAT N.

Technically there should be very little difference - in deed if any - between a regular car and a very light bumper/body damaged car;after all the previous insurer will have settled the matter and no doubt they will not be out of pocket and more to the point why should a new owner be penalised because of someone else causing damage.

 

[umblecumbuz]

You'd be better off trying a new insurer - or at least getting comparison quotes. If you intend to sell your existing car, you can get quotes based on your current ncd.

Personally, if I already had wheels, I would exercise patience and not rush into piecemeal action until the entire sale, including possession of the green slip, was done and dusted.

 

[Philedge]

Dont forget that if the car ends up with a write off marker its value is drastically reduced as many potential buyers arent interested in buying a former write off.

Its up to you if you buy and how much you pay, but bear in mind that any subsequent claim by you will probably be settled by your insurer on the market value which could be vastly lower than book price due to the marker.

I think the write off marker is held on the insurance industry database so any new insurer should know its been a write off and they will certainly find out if you claim!

 

[ARoosterinaRoadster]

You'd be better off trying a new insurer - or at least getting comparison quotes. If you intend to sell your existing car, you can get quotes based on your current ncd.

Personally, if I already had wheels, I would exercise patience and not rush into piecemeal action until the entire sale, including possession of the green slip, was done and dusted.

Hi umblecumbuzz. Why do you say "You'd be better off trying a new insurer".

 

[Blobcat]

Hi umblecumbuzz. Why do you say "You'd be better off trying a new insurer".

Because you almost always get a better deal as a new customer

 

[Capra]

Because you almost always get a better deal as a new customer

I had to change mine this year as the current policy was going to go up to £680 from £650, and that is with 1 years NCD, I went somewhere else and paid £480.

 

[mercmancdi]

I had to change mine this year as the current policy was going to go up to £680 from £650, and that is with 1 years NCD, I went somewhere else and paid £480.

don’t understand why my insurance company has to increase it every year ,and usually force me to shop around and use a different company most yrs.
doesn’t seem good business practice to me.

 

[Capra]

don’t understand why my insurance company has to increase it every year ,and usually force me to shop around and use a different company most yrs.
doesn’t seem good business practice to me.

As I understand they apply large discounts to new customers in the hope that you will not bother moving. I know premiums can go up, but it was cheaper for me without any NCD last year for the same company. At least with insurance now it's easy to move and just receive the NCD cert in email.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Many insurers now have a small print clause that builds automatic annual renewal into your agreement.

Fully aware of this clause, they deliberately increase the renewal premium in the hope that - as a busy and harassed executive - you will simply accept your renewal rather than go to all the trouble of cancelling and getting fresh quotes each year. Hence the reason for getting comparitive quotations annually.

You can confirm that this is a try-on by getting a lower quote elsewhere and then going back to your original insurer. They will often match or even beat the lower quote rather than lose your business.

 

[Capra]

Many insurers now have a small print clause that builds automatic annual renewal into your agreement.

Fully aware of this clause, they deliberately increase the renewal premium in the hope that - as a busy and harassed executive - you will simply accept your renewal rather than go to all the trouble of cancelling and getting fresh quotes each year. Hence the reason for getting comparitive quotations annually.

You can confirm that this is a try-on by getting a lower quote elsewhere and then going back to your original insurer. They will often match or even beat the lower quote rather than lose your business.

Happened to me last one, I emailed asking them to not renew, they then offered a £50 discount, to which I declined.

 

[mercmancdi]

Happened to me last one, I emailed asking them to not renew, they then offered a £50 discount, to which I declined.

Same here they have even offered me a match to my cheapest quote to stay with them ,but because I was a bit ****ed off with them I refused there offer and moved , as Capra said it’s so easy now to get your proof of no claims online makes it easier.

 

[LostKiwi]

I work on the principle of informing the insurer up front I don't want it to auto renew. If they send me a renewal notice I compare with others and if they aren't competitive the renewal gets binned. I can't be bothered with companies that don't give me their best price straight away.

It's like the salesmen who come round to sell you stairs/conservatory roofs/double glazing etc.
I tell them up front that if they get one quote. If that quote isn't good enough they get shown the door. I'm not prepared to play their "I'llI call the manager and see if he can authorise more off but you'll need to sign up today" games. If they're going to give a discount offer the full discount straight away.

 

[400ixl]

Many insurers now have a small print clause that builds automatic annual renewal into your agreement.

Its all, not many as the government made continuous insurance compulsory on insurance companies.