We had two cars from '94, when we married, to early 2018. My last three MOTs recorded 3500/2500/3000miles in each Yr. It was costing around £800/annum, to Tax, insure, service and MOT.
The last MOT had several faults needing rectification, all had been warnings in the previous MOTs.
So, at a book price of £800, needing the wrong side of £500 spending on it, I sold it as is to the garage for £500.
For the next two years I drove Lady Byegads car, mostly on a holiday and days out. She drove it 4 or 5 days a week for shopping, meeting friends and following her hobbies. A completely fair assessment was we covered almost exactly the same mileage each Yr. So, at her first renewal I insured it in her name. The next year she insured it. Each time naming the other as a driver. Then a couple of months later, she had a brain abscess necessitating a hole in her head to drain it, and so incurring a perfectly understandable withdrawal of her licence for a minimum of one year by DVLA.
As I'd had a renewal notice less than two months earlier, but she'd insured, with the same firm for a little less, I informed the RAC Insurance people of her circumstances. Remember, I'd been with them up to that September. Their reaction was despicable. Having insisted on cancelling her policy (Fair enough, she could not be the main driver, as her licence had gone back to DVLA.) and promptly offered me insurance on the car, which in September I could have bought at just under £400, it was on their renewal notice, a policy at over £960. I told them what I thought of their attempt to profiteer on my wife's illness (At that time her survival was in doubt.) and promptly got the car covered for just under £350 by Direct Line.
Insurance companies all want to charge the maximum they can, and pay out the minimum. They're businesses and I do understand that they need to make a profit, but all too often the bastards run the show.
So just three weeks ago we needed to replace our two year old rather nice small car with a larger one so we could carry the wheelchair, which my wife needs for more than a short walk, without the rear seats being down. I called Direct one who, for a modest sum covered the new car for the remaining 2 months of my cover. No fee to make the change, which I'm sure those robbing bastards at RAC Insurance would charge! No fuss just enough to cover 1/6th the annual difference in a years insurance.
