Cover, tax and the day you collect the car
Two different things get muddled here. Cover for the hour you drive it home is not the same as the annual policy, and the tax has to be done before either of them matters. Here is the order that works.
1. Before you drive it away
The seller's insurance does not cover you, and tax no longer transfers with the car. From the moment you hand over the money the car is untaxed and, unless you have arranged something, uninsured. Buying an hour or a day of cover before you set off is what stops a car being seized at the roadside.
- Veygo by Admiral Hourly and daily cover, app based
- Cuvva Hourly cover, quick on a phone
- Tempcover One hour to 28 days, compares a panel
2. Tax it the same day
Use the 12 digit reference on the green slip the seller gives you. It has to be taxed before you drive it, and tax no longer transfers with the car.
3. The annual policy
Comparison sites do not all carry the same insurers, and the same car can come back hundreds of pounds apart on two of them. Run your details through more than one before you commit. Watch the excess and the mileage you declare, not only the headline price.
- Quotezone Compares over 100 UK insurers in one form
- Go.Compare Big-name panel, shows the excess next to the price
- MoneySuperMarket Wide panel, useful for older cars
4. Once it is on the road
- RAC Breakdown cover
- Warranty Wise Used car warranty
What we are and what we are not
MotorQuote UK finds cars and checks their history. We are not an insurance broker and we are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. We show you where to compare and you buy your own policy direct from the provider. We never fill in a quote form for you and we never tell you which cover to take. Some of the links on this page earn us a commission, which never changes the price you pay.