New Lexus Car insurance Quandry

Electron · October 6

I am in the process of buying a brand new Lexus from a Lexus dealership.

I have come across a problem with Insurance that I have never had before and was wondering if others on this forum have experienced it too.

The car is at the dealership undergoing PDI etc etc.

It hopefully will be ready to pick up this coming week.

My hassle is that the dealership want me to supply insurance details before pickup but they do not register/tax the car until I supply that.

I can't find any Insurance company who will allow a policy to be taken out without the Registration number on DVLA website!

All other manufacturers who have supplied a car have allowed complimentary 1 day/7day insurance to sort this potential problem, NOT Lexus they say.

Thoughts please.

Dave

GMB · October 6

Strange and irritating isn't it? But they are the mighty Lexus and we are just humble punters who don't know what a spark plug is nowadays. I hope the insurance isn't too shocking either. I think all insurance companies would refuse to insure a "car" without knowing its true identity anyway.

Electron · October 6

Thanks Gray those were my exact thoughts.

In theory you could have 2 identical cars on your drive so no company in their right mind would insure either without knowing which one was the liability.

Very catch 22 to me.

Dave

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · October 6

54 minutes ago, Electron said:

I am in the process of buying a brand new Lexus from a Lexus dealership.

I have come across a problem with Insurance that I have never had before and was wondering if others on this forum have experienced it too.

The car is at the dealership undergoing PDI etc etc.

It hopefully will be ready to pick up this coming week.

My hassle is that the dealership want me to supply insurance details before pickup but they do not register/tax the car until I supply that.

I can't find any Insurance company who will allow a policy to be taken out without the Registration number on DVLA website!

All other manufacturers who have supplied a car have allowed complimentary 1 day/7day insurance to sort this potential problem, NOT Lexus they say.

Thoughts please.

Dave

Dave All dealerships offer a Temporary insurance to get you over the first few days Should you require cover for whatever reason.. ask the Dealer for this service...

Fusspot · October 6

@Dave - you don't say who your local Lexus dealer is.

When I bought my NX350H last year from the local Lexus dealer Inchcape (soon to be Group 1), they offered me drive home insurance as well as registering the vehicle before collection.

Can you not challenge them to provide this sort of basic courtesy for a new purchase?

Electron · October 6

Hello Ron, any car my wife or I have bought from different manufacturers, new in the past, have offered this service but my local Lexus dealer says they no longer do it.

Hello Pete as you and Ron have suggested I will indeed chase my dealer this week. I have not named the dealership yet just in case I have misinterpreted what I was told.

Thanks again for your comments

Dave

ColinBarber · October 6

Some insurance companies allow you register the vehicle against the VIN and you then update them with the registration number once allocated (Direct Line certainly used to).

I thought the whole we must see your insurance certificate before we tax it wasn't a thing anymore - they certainly don't need it do their registration and first year tax 😞

Hayzee · October 6

Every Lexus and Toyota I've bought new, the dealership provided the registration before collection.

Electron · October 6

18 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

Some insurance companies allow you register the vehicle against the VIN and you then update them with the registration number once allocated (Direct Line certainly used to).

I thought the whole we must see your insurance certificate before we tax it wasn't a thing anymore - they certainly don't need it do their registration and first year tax 😞

Thanks Colin, I did look at Direct Line and associate Churchill they could not even find the Lexus Model I am trying to insure on their system!

They have NX 450h+ Sport and NX 450H+ Takumi but they don't recognise the NX 450H+ F Sport Takumi variant! I spent 30 minutes on phone trying to sort it with them!

Dave

Goodplan53 · October 6

Hello Dave,

I bought my brand new NX from Lexus Swindon earlier this year, and they arranged everything, including transfer of private plates from the trade in car to the new one. I had informed them previously that I did not need the complimentary two day drive away insurance.

When the car was ready to be collected I contacted my insurer and set up my own insurance for the new car.

I would email and question them why they won’t provide you with the same level of service as other main dealers. Maybe also cc Lexus UK Customer Relations.

Electron · October 6

18 minutes ago, Hayzee said:

Every Lexus and Toyota I've bought new, the dealership provided the registration before collection.

Colin, what is even more embarrassing is that I know what the registration is as it is a personal plate but as the DVLA records don't show it as the dealer has not registered it with DVLA without insurance the insurance companies won't play!

I think the sensible way forward is the chase the dealer Again. I was hoping someone with a recent new buy could say if they they had a similar problem.

Dave

Electron · October 6

1 minute ago, Goodplan53 said:

Hello Dave,

I bought my brand new NX from Lexus Swindon earlier this year, and they arranged everything, including transfer of private plates from the trade in car to the new one. I had informed them previously that I did not need the complimentary two day drive away insurance.

When the car was ready to be collected I contacted my insurer and set up my own insurance for the new car.

I would email and question them why they won’t provide you with the same level of service as other main dealers. Maybe also cc Lexus UK Customer Relations.

Interesting Tim, so Lexus Swindon had the offer available!

My dealer is a Main Lexus Dealer so having heard that you had that service, it gives me some ammo to fire back at them.

Dave

rayaans · October 6

Just tell them youre happy to cancel the sale and they'll register it.

There's no reason it shouldn't be registered first and then you can collect it after the insurance is sorted

Electron · October 6

11 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Just tell them youre happy to cancel the sale and they'll register it.

There's no reason it shouldn't be registered first and then you can collect it after the insurance is sorted

Thank you I feel a bit happier after all the comments.

Dave

Andy B · October 6

Have you tried Lexus Insurance themselves for cover? They may be more willing to help you. They can be more expensive but as a last resort you could get insured with them long enough to get the dealer to release the car to you and then cancel the insurance (if you ultimately find cheaper or better cover elsewhere) within the 14 day cooling off period.

Electron · October 6

39 minutes ago, Andy B said:

Have you tried Lexus Insurance themselves for cover? They may be more willing to help you. They can be more expensive but as a last resort you could get insured with them long enough to get the dealer to release the car to you and then cancel the insurance (if you ultimately find cheaper or better cover elsewhere) within the 14 day cooling off period.

Hello Andy I did try Lexus Insurance and they were way more expensive than any one else but, they too, wanted a valid reg number. I did not ring them though. I will check with my dealer and make sure I have not got the wrong end of the stick on this one.

I do appreciate all the rapid responses given by you all on the forum.

Dave

Andy B · October 6

Yeah, it might be worth giving them a call and speaking to a real human being.

If I remember correctly - when I bought my NX new in early 2022, I was given the registration number weeks in advance by my dealer so I'm not sure why yours can't do this. Anyway, good luck with all this - I hope you get it sorted somehow.

Serguei · October 6

7 hours ago, Electron said:

My hassle is that the dealership want me to supply insurance details before pickup but they do not register/tax the car until I supply that.

I can't find any Insurance company who will allow a policy to be taken out without the Registration number on DVLA website!

This is strange. I don’t think the dealer even bothered to ask me about insurance when they delivered a car to me, but I did pay cash, may be it is related to the loan you have arranged through them?

as for DVLA website - the car won’t appear there for some time after you collected the car. So it is normal, but I would expect to know the number plate.

If you go via a comparison website they definitely have a function to ensure a new car without it not being in DVLA website, but one normally has a number plate already.

Bezzer · October 7

Last new car I had the dealer(Toyota)already had block of registration numbers and just asked us to pick one when we ordered and it was all sorted. Dunno if they still do that as DVLA rules and regs are always changing.

GMB · October 7

27 minutes ago, Bezzer said:

the dealer(Toyota)already had block of registration numbers and just asked us to pick one

Same for us, we got the choice of numbers a week before the car was ready for collection. No problem.

Hayzee · October 7

18 hours ago, Electron said:

I think the sensible way forward is the chase the dealer Again.

Definitely Dave.... they're just being lazy it seems

DAN@ADRIAN FLUX · October 7

Hi.

Please feel free to give us a try for insurance if you wish.

We can policies on the chassis number if needs be.

Thanks,

Daniel.

Electron · October 10

Hopefully my hassle is over!

I did contact the dealer and it was confirmed that the Lexus Main Dealership group did not in anyway provide New Car short term insurance of 1-7 days to allow a car registration / taxation without the buyer having gained insurance themselves.

I found a well know Company who apparently worked with another broker who would insure a brand new car without the known registration plate being in the official DVLA database. After a phone call to the company a very helpful person took all the details and issued me with an annual policy.

So fingers crossed for pick up day.

Many thanks to all the forum members for their suggestions and comments, I must admit I was almost at cancellation point!

Dave

GMB · October 10

1 hour ago, Electron said:

I did contact the dealer and it was confirmed that the Lexus Main Dealership group did not in anyway provide New Car short term insurance

With an attitude like that I wonder how they will be once they have got your money. I am afraid that I would have run a mile and told them to "shove it" rather than get into an arrangement with that company. Who is the Lexus dealer doing this chicanery and is this normal practice by Lexus dealers nowadays? Neither I nor my friends ( not many left now😒 ) have ever come across it.

First_Lexus · October 10

On 10/6/2024 at 5:44 PM, Goodplan53 said:

Hello Dave,

I bought my brand new NX from Lexus Swindon earlier this year, and they arranged everything, including transfer of private plates from the trade in car to the new one. I had informed them previously that I did not need the complimentary two day drive away insurance.

When the car was ready to be collected I contacted my insurer and set up my own insurance for the new car.

I would email and question them why they won’t provide you with the same level of service as other main dealers. Maybe also cc Lexus UK Customer Relations.

I’ve had three new Lexus from Swindon and they’ve done the same every time. Great service making the whole process simple and pain free.

Just going through the exact same process with Fish Bros Toyota in Swindon - essentially the same dealership - and they don’t do the same! I’ve had to organise my own private number plate swap etc.

Infuriating it may be, but shows the lack of consistency is even more bizarre than just across different Lexus dealers!