I would have it registered to your dad. I would also just see if he would take the finance out in his name to save you from any higher than normal interest rates on the finance. Also you dont want to muddy your parents credit rating by having any links to you.

Paul

Hello greenie.

Keeping yourself away from ownership for now might be simpler.

Even with a guarantor credit could be very expensive or impossible to obtain. Family help might bypass that.

You can generally be the registered keeper and main insured of a vehicle without being the owner.

Cars... a Subject I know a bit about...

Out of interest... what has gone wrong with your car at present...?

Ok... for buying the car... I would buy it in your dad's name but have you listed on the insurance as the main driver etc and the car being kept at your house. You will not be earning no claims bonus etc while this is happening however uinless you go with a company like direct line who recognise drivers for NCB also. If you have built up any NCB at present this will stay valid for 2 years afetr you end your insurance. make sure your insurance company at present send you proof of this. Make sure you advise your trustee that your dad is buying a car in his name which you will have full use of and will be paying insurance and petrol towards.

As for your car at present... even is the car has died (engine gone, non economical repair etc) it still have scrapage value in it. Cars can be easily broken for their conponent values (interior, body pannels etc) so you should get money back for it. Shop about for the best price but remember this should (I belive) be advised to your trustee.

As another side option... Many large car companies are offering great deals on new cars where you could trade your car (even if its not working) in against. Vauxhall are offering 0% interest on cars along with ford. Others offer free insurance etc. It's worth considering (if your buying the car in our dads name) these options as the monthly payment may actualy be the same as the cost of buying a second hand older car! Honda were also offering 0% interest on the Civic last time i checked etc...

When buying your car where ever one you go for consider your millage and needs... For a Diesel to be more economical from new you need to be doing 16K miles + a year. Small cars carry less road tax traditionaly although new cars fited with start stop for example can cost as little as £40 a year on road tax. 5 doors cost more than 3. Dealers will complete against each other so shop about and do not be frightened to TELL (not ask) them you want a discount, mats and flaps etc... The ball is in your court... Be nice but stick to your guns and you will be amazed at what they will give you!

Best of luck with the car buying... Make sure and post up what you get...!

Carefull about using the car as a named driver, if the insurance company find out you are the main user you will have no insurance and can be prosecuted. It's called fronting. Because of high insurance rates for young drivers the insurance companies are coming down hard on it!

ahhhh... I didnt know that... last time i spoke to my insurance comoanies about doing this (a few years back for my wide) they said it was fine... That was with several other companies. Best thing to do is call the insurance ompanies and explained the cuircomstances. You may be able to buy the car in your dads name and have the insurance in your name as long as the regested and insured addresses match. When in doubt check with the insuracne comany. You can do this in advance to buying any car!

Thank you so much for all your invaluable advice.

The head gasket went on my own car. I had to pay for repairs to the tune of £300 for the garage to then tell me there was nothing they could do for the car 🙁 It was unrepairable. So im left with no car and three kids. Im the only driver in the family so its very difficult. 🙁

Im a bit confused now though.

Do I let dad buy the car, but register on my own name?
He will be guarantor for the finance, but do I have him as the main driver and I just go on his insurance?
I have built up 8 years no claims so would hate to lose this.

Would it be easier to wait (if I can?!) about 8 weeks til my TD is finished? (However it can take longer for the final paperwork to come through I believe). Oh im sooo lost. 🙁

Thanks again!

If you put the car in your name then it will be counted as an assit and will be taken into account by your trustee from my understanding.

What I sugest is buying the car and keeping it in your dads name. You insure it however fully disclosing the details to the insurance omkpany about it being in your fathers name as he bought it but you are the main driver etc.

£300 for a cilinder head is not to bad actualy. I am assuming the damage this caused when it failed is far more catastrophic however.

Have you considered going to the cheaper end of the market for a car...?

You said you have only a few months to go in the TD and buying a banger for a few months in your name etc may be the way to go forward... Then afetr a few months, once the TD has completed etc you can buy a better car...

For £1000 you will find a good selection of cars on Autotrader with reasonable millage, quality etc that come with 6+ months tax and MOT. This will be all you need to get you beyond the end of the TD. You can then trade this car in against a newer car without any of the worry.

If you do go for this option I would go for a small popular and easy to maintain car like a Corsa, Fiesta, Micra with a small engine. They are less likley to have complicated mechanical issues (as they are fairly simplistic engines) and if things do go wrong they are cheap to maintain.

Let dad buy the car, forget using him as guarantor and you getting finance as the price would be a total rip off. He can register the car in his name for now and you sort out the insurance yourself listing your dad as the owner. No need to wait until the td is finished but make sure your trustee knows whats going on.

Good luck.

Paul

Your dad could buy the car and take the finance, avoiding any issues about you being the owner, but you can still be the registered keeper, which is a different thing. I don't see why you shouldn't be able to get insurance as the main driver in this scenario - though it's possible that premiums might be higher for people that do not own the car that they are insuring.

I think the belts and braces approach would be to get the car in your Dad's name. It's unlikely to be regarded as an asset, however as most of the people on the forum know, unlikely has a habit of rearing its head!

Mark

Thanks so much all.

Buying a banger for a couple of months sounds a good option, but, I have my own car to trade in against the new car and need rid of that. Arnold Clark have agreed to give me £500 trade in against a new purchase.

So I allow my dad to buy the car outright and him get finance, but I put myself down as main driver and get insurance for it? Is that what I do?
Should I check with my trustee first if this would be okay?

I only have two payments left of TD and i'd hate to mess things up at this stage.

Thanks again for invaluable advice.

I doubt that your trustee will have an issue if you raise this with them greenie.

It's possible to be the registered keeper and the main insured on the vehicle while someone else is the owner. Your dad might want to check the terms of any finance agreement before he signs it to make sure he doesn't create a problem for himself.

Okay, thanks for that TDA 🙂