Back when I used to work at a VW dealership this was also the practice before a test drive was allowed.
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Test drive insurance waiver - am I missing something?
- Thread starter sp4rk
- Start date
Back when I used to work at a VW dealership this was also the practice before a test drive was allowed.
I agree with most everyone else here:
1)Your personal auto insurance covers you when driving a vehicle like this.
2)It's standard for many test drives (not everywhere, but many places)
3)I really don't understand what you're upset about...if you drove a friend's car you'd be implicitly assuming liability for damage. I'm sure Tesla has some sort of insurance policy too, but with thousands and thousands of people driving these high performance vehicles the risk that someone's going to crash is fairly high and since people's personal auto insurance will cover them the insurance agency wants that to be the primary coverage.
1)Your personal auto insurance covers you when driving a vehicle like this.
2)It's standard for many test drives (not everywhere, but many places)
3)I really don't understand what you're upset about...if you drove a friend's car you'd be implicitly assuming liability for damage. I'm sure Tesla has some sort of insurance policy too, but with thousands and thousands of people driving these high performance vehicles the risk that someone's going to crash is fairly high and since people's personal auto insurance will cover them the insurance agency wants that to be the primary coverage.
I know that none of us are going to make you change your mind on this, and that's fine. You keep mentioning that signing the waiver would subject you to unnecessary risk. What risk is that? Is it the risk that you'll wreck the car and then have to pay for the damage? If so, I don't see that as being either undue or unnecessary. Should Tesla, or their insurance carrier, bare the risk of your actions? Frankly, I'm glad to see that Tesla is protecting themselves; one horrible accident during a test drive could be very expensive for them and, because the company itself owns the vehicles and runs the test drive, such a thing could impact the company as a whole. I sincerely hope that Tesla does not allow you (or me, or anyone) to test drive without first asking that you assume liability; doing so exposes Tesla to unnecessary risk.
I didn't see an issue with signing the thing when I took my test drive. Yes, I read it and, yes, I knew exactly what it meant when I signed it.
I didn't see an issue with signing the thing when I took my test drive. Yes, I read it and, yes, I knew exactly what it meant when I signed it.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
I also had the license and insurance card photocopy thing happen to me in test drives. And it's not unusual when renting a car that you have to sign a similar agreement (that you have your own insurance to cover you if you don't opt to pay for the rental company's insurance). I checked my insurance policy and it does cover non-owned cars (aka rental and cars I test drive or borrow for a short period). It's a bit unusual that your's doesn't, but I guess if it doesn't then you made the right decision not to test drive the car.
EarlyAdopter
Active Member
sp4rk
Go down to your local Porsche dealership and ask to test drive a $100,000 Panamera. I suspect you'll discover they require the same as Tesla. Just try declining to sign any waivers or let them copy your insurance card and drivers license and see how far you can get with that.
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A quick Google search reveals this is perfectly normal - while dealers have "garage policies" that cover their fleet, it's normal for them to request you sign a waiver stating that your insurance will pick up anything theirs doesn't cover. This sounds like what Tesla was asking for. More time spent on Google reveals that some dealers require this, some don't and just accept the risk. The former is more likely to be encountered at high end dealerships, the latter more likely at low end. Makes perfect sense to me and Tesla does not seem to be out of the norm here.
Go down to your local Porsche dealership and ask to test drive a $100,000 Panamera. I suspect you'll discover they require the same as Tesla. Just try declining to sign any waivers or let them copy your insurance card and drivers license and see how far you can get with that.
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A quick Google search reveals this is perfectly normal - while dealers have "garage policies" that cover their fleet, it's normal for them to request you sign a waiver stating that your insurance will pick up anything theirs doesn't cover. This sounds like what Tesla was asking for. More time spent on Google reveals that some dealers require this, some don't and just accept the risk. The former is more likely to be encountered at high end dealerships, the latter more likely at low end. Makes perfect sense to me and Tesla does not seem to be out of the norm here.
teslasguy
MSP P#1117
I've test driven lots of high end cars before including Porsches and have never been asked to sign anything. Sometimes they ask to make a copy of my license, but that's all. Having said that though I did sign the test drive agreement Tesla made us sign at the Get Amped event. Just make sure your current auto coverage covers rentals and test drives as others here suggest. I'm sure Tesla would be very reasonable as long as you are. They're just trying to protect themselves against the possibility someone does a test drive and displays gross negligence.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Some Googling seems to indicate dealer waivers aren't the norm, though not necessarily unusual either. Basically, dealers do have garage insurance and your insurance picks up the excess if the dealer insurance doesn't cover it all. Signing a waiver basically puts it all on your insurance.
I'd seriously consider a new agent and/or insurance company though. If your agent has never heard of this they're either incompetent or lying to you.
I'd seriously consider a new agent and/or insurance company though. If your agent has never heard of this they're either incompetent or lying to you.
I had a related experience about two years ago. A friend of mine asked me to look after her car for a while, but in the process we discovered that their budget car insurance was only valid if she drove, no one else. My insurance agent initially freaked, but was able to, for a rather modest fee, extend my car insurance to cover my actions when I was driving other cars. That also included rental cars and "loss of use" which a rental company might throw at you if you wreck their car. I have another friend that got sued based on loss of use after an accident. I don't remember the extra policy price, but it was low enough that I thought it was a no-brainer at the time (and did that I had no qualms about signing Tesla's waiver).
Something to look into maybe? I use State Farm.
Something to look into maybe? I use State Farm.
Ironically, a year ago my girlfriend and I spotted a Porsche Panamera in Europe for the first time.
On returning to the US, I did indeed test drive one and was asked for my D/L and insurance card but no "waiver".
Previous to that I had test driven several cars in the $85k to $120k range and never ran into it.
I am with American Family Insurance.
I have rented tons of cars in Europe and USA. In those instances, my Visa card has picked up some and I have paid for other insurance to the rental car facility.
So this, the way I understand it, is quite different from a rental car.
(Am curious how Tesla handles this in the UK. Do they require a waiver? And if my insurance for my car there would cover a test drive there? Irrelevant but curious.)
I've also given my agent this URL for him to "digest" and follow up!
I want a bloody Model S!
PeterW
Member
Personal Auto Insurance is something new to me. We do not have that in New Zealand. Our Auto insurance is specifically for the vehicle and anyone 25yrs and over. If you want someone under 25 to be covered they must be named on the policy. If I drive a different car that does not apply to my insurance cover. If a drive a rental car that does not apply to my insurance cover. We flew over for a test drive and were not going to fly back without having a drive. We did have travel insurance with personal liability cover.
Drove the performance, put my foot to the floor at least 6 times. Loved it.
Drove the performance, put my foot to the floor at least 6 times. Loved it.
When I test drove the roadster I don't remember signing any waivers. I think they took a photocopy of my license but not of any insurance. I am quite sure I remember them saying they were responsible if I damaged the car. I am not sure I would have signed the waiver as the test drive was in NYC and people drive like idiots there. So I am surprised that they would now have waivers for the Model S. That being said, if the test drive was at a more reasonable location I would sign the waiver for the Model S.
In the "be careful what you ask for" department, I don't want blood in or on my Model S.I want a bloody Model S!
UK insurance practice is different - a normal policy covers the policy holder to drive the car named on the policy (with whatever level of coverage you've bought), plus it covers the policy holder to drive other cars "neither owned nor hired under a hire purchase agreement", _BUT_ this coverage when driving other cars is "third party only" - ie. it covers the minimal legally require coverage - which pays for whatever you inflict on other road users, but no coverage for the vehicle you are actually driving. Also, if you are an 'additional named driver' on the policy, then you don't get any drive-other-cars rights at all: for example, we currently have one car, I am the policy holder and can drive other cars, but my wife is an additional named driver and can drive our car but not others.
Net effect of this is that when hiring a car, you almost always want the hire company's insurance ("Collision damage waiver") - I was surprised on first visiting the USA that rental companies treated this as an option that I probably didn't want. Over here, rentals are normally priced with the CDW already included (they might try to sell you extra insurance on top, or charge extra to reduce the excess).
I can't speak for Tesla, but car dealers here would not normally expect you to be carrying insurance that would cover driving their cars.
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When I test drove the roadster, I did have to sign a waver, but perhaps that was the ripped shirt and torn jeans I was wearing...
I signed both the Roadsters and the S's wavers; I feel I am responsible for accidents that I cause, not them, but my insurance also covers these drives.
Peter
contaygious
Active Member
Wow that's some serious restraint! I probably would have paid them if they required me too, there's no way I was leaving without driving.
Wow, I think people are unfairly jumping down sp4rk's throat.
Most of us signed the waiver because we really wanted to test drive the car, not because we reviewed the content critically and assessed exactly what we were agreeing to.
As sp4rk said, this kind of waiver is abnormal for test driving a car as a potential customer. I've never heard of other dealerships doing this.
Having the dealership copy your license and insurance card and signing a contract which tries to make you legally liable for the test car are not the same thing. The standard practice is a form of security. That's not the same thing as making a contract over liability.
Regardless of the content of the document, I figured that it was really just a CYA thing for Tesla and that if something did happen,in practice, it would be worked out with insurance, Tesla, etc.
That said, I can't fault sp4rk for taking a more critical eye to it. However, I think sp4rk, your insurance probably would have covered your liability; most policies do. Your insurance agent was still probably right in asking you not to sign it as it is not a standard thing, and he probably does not know exactly what the contract contained, it just seems fishy since it's not a common practice.
Most of us signed the waiver because we really wanted to test drive the car, not because we reviewed the content critically and assessed exactly what we were agreeing to.
As sp4rk said, this kind of waiver is abnormal for test driving a car as a potential customer. I've never heard of other dealerships doing this.
Having the dealership copy your license and insurance card and signing a contract which tries to make you legally liable for the test car are not the same thing. The standard practice is a form of security. That's not the same thing as making a contract over liability.
Regardless of the content of the document, I figured that it was really just a CYA thing for Tesla and that if something did happen,in practice, it would be worked out with insurance, Tesla, etc.
That said, I can't fault sp4rk for taking a more critical eye to it. However, I think sp4rk, your insurance probably would have covered your liability; most policies do. Your insurance agent was still probably right in asking you not to sign it as it is not a standard thing, and he probably does not know exactly what the contract contained, it just seems fishy since it's not a common practice.
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