Plain-English guides to checking a used car before you buy — from MOT history and mileage to write-offs, outstanding finance and your rights as a buyer.
Check the actual vehicle
Enter its registration to check the official tax, MOT and mileage record free. If you need provenance for a purchase or ownership decision, add finance, stolen and write-off checks.
Free: vehicle identity, tax/SORN, MOT history, mileage and buyer red flags.
Full history: adds outstanding finance, stolen, insurance write-off and other paid provenance checks.
The full report is optional. Review the free official record first if you are unsure. Payment is completed securely on the next screen.
What a car check covers, and which checks actually matter before you buy.
How to view, test-drive and inspect a used car — and the red flags to walk from.
Where you stand if a used car turns out to be faulty or misdescribed.
Signs of odometer tampering and how MOT mileage history reveals it.
Why finance owed on a car can follow it to a new owner, and how to check.
What Cat A, B, S and N mean and what each tells you about a used car.
How stolen-vehicle markers work and what to do before you hand over money.
Short, focused answers to common used-car questions.
Learn what MOT advisories mean, which recurring faults deserve attention and how to read them before buying a used car.
Understand why a recently issued V5C logbook deserves a question, what it can mean and what it does not prove.
Find out what a DVLA marked-for-export status means and what to verify before buying the vehicle.
Understand mileage drops in MOT history, legitimate causes and the evidence to request before buying.
Use this practical UK seller-question checklist after checking MOT, mileage, tax, V5C and vehicle history.
A practical guide to buying a vehicle declared SORN, including MOT, transport, paperwork and seller questions.
Understand the limited UK MOT-test exception and why tax, insurance and roadworthiness still matter.
Check the V5C keeper, VIN, registration, issue date and document details before buying a UK used car.