Everything about running a car history check before you buy: what a vehicle check shows, how to read the report, what to do when it finds a problem, and how the providers compare.
What a free and paid car history check includes, and how it differs from an MOT or tax lookup.
A car history check pulls together everything on record about a vehicle from its registration number: what it is, whether it’s legal to drive, who has kept it, and — on a paid check — whether anyone else has a claim on it. What it can’t show is the state of the car in front […]
For a car you already own, or one you’re only shortlisting, a free check is enough. For a car you’re about to hand money over for, it isn’t: free checks stop at the public data, and the three problems that can take the car off you — outstanding finance, theft and an undisclosed write-off — […]
How to interpret finance, stolen, write-off and mileage signals in your vehicle check results.
Run a car damage check on the registration and then look at the car, because the two find different things. The check shows accidents that an insurer recorded as a write-off, with the category and date. It cannot show a crash that was repaired privately, and a great many are — which is why the […]
There’s no magic number — a twelve-year-old car with five keepers is normal and a three-year-old car with five keepers is not. The count matters far less than the pattern: how long each keeper held it, and whether the changes cluster. Here’s what the figure on a car check actually measures, what’s typical, and the […]
Read the MOT mileage history. Every MOT test since 2005 records the odometer, and a clocked car shows up as a reading that goes down, or a trail that flattens out suspiciously. That record is free, it takes thirty seconds to read, and it catches most clocking. Here’s how to read it, what to look […]
Run a history check that queries the police stolen-vehicle register — that’s the paid layer on any provider — and then check the car itself: VIN against V5C, V5C against the seller. The register catches cars reported stolen; the physical checks catch cloned ones wearing an innocent car’s identity. Buy a stolen car and the […]
Run a paid history check on the registration — finance records come from lenders, not the DVLA, so no free check can show them. If the result shows an agreement still open, the lender owns the car until it’s settled, whatever the seller says. Here’s how the check works, how to read the result, and […]
Practical checks and next steps when you are viewing a specific car or dealer sale.
Yes, still. A dealer sale gives you legal protection a private sale doesn’t, and most reputable dealers do check their stock — but “HPI clear” on the windscreen is a claim, not a certificate, and two things routinely slip through dealer checks. At £4.99, your own check is the cheapest part of the purchase. Here’s […]
Don’t pay yet. Some markers end the deal outright, some change the price, and some are innocent with a paper trail — and the seller’s reaction to being asked is often more informative than the marker itself. Here’s each flag in turn, what it means, and the rule for deciding whether to negotiate or walk. […]
Compare UK car check providers, free vs paid tiers, and what you get for your money.
Total Car Check is one of the larger UK vehicle-history providers, built around a free basic check and a set of tiered paid reports. This guide sets out what the free layer shows, what the paid reports cost and include, when it’s worth choosing, and how it compares with the alternatives — so you can […]
The best car history check depends on what you’re paying for: the longest-established brand with a data guarantee (HPI), a free tier with paid extras (Total Car Check, My Car Check), a single flat-price full report (Full Car Checks, £9.99), a report built around imported and European history (CarVertical), or the most complete free check […]