Aug
27
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Checking a cars history

Author admin    Category Salvage     Tags

Before buying any damaged repairable car you need to thoroughly check the cars history, not only is this to reinforce or check what the salvage yard is stating about the car, e.g. Stolen & Recovered, or vehicle category.

You will be surprised just how many salvage yards are unsure of the car’s salvage category, and this makes a big difference when looking to price repairs, and potentially your profit if you intend to sell on.

Likewise, if a salvage yard says its unrecorded, always run a check to ensure this definitely is the case. There would be nothing worse than paying a premium for what is supposed to be an unrecorded (Cat X) car, and finding its actually recorded.

I’ve compiled a quick overview of all the main car history sites, with a few comments over which I feel are best suited to checking a cars history.
Please note: these are just my opinions…

HPI Check – £19.99

Very detailed report, and In my opinion the best for checking a car’s history. Available online and on the phone, and you get a very detailed report. See one here. A little expensive at almost £20, but very advisable if you are looking at buying an unrecorded car with the intention of selling on. The certificate will prove invaluable when coming to sell the car. Likewise when supporting the sale of a recorded car, it also looks good attached with the history and repair paperwork, and helps reinforce confidence on the behalf of the potential buyer.

mycarcheck.com – £3.95

Dead cheap and provided by one of the biggest (but least known) names in insurance. CDL (Cheshire Data Limited) provide the IT infrastructure for a lot of the biggest insurers, so they definitely know their stuff.
Very simple online check, more basic than HPI, but good if you are speculating about buying a car, and just want to make a quick check before progressing any further with the purchase.


AutoCheck – £19.99

Another quite expensive history check. Although extremely thorough report, and provided by one of the biggest Data companies in the UK. They have access to so much data its scary! Report provided easily online, and they were also recently awarded the Auto Express Best Buy award.
Currently running a deal for £24.95 to check history on up to 5 cars, so good if you haven’t quite made your mind up over which car you would like, or likewise if you are looking to buy multiple salvage vehicles.


The Check.co.uk – £3

Excellent service which sends car history direct to your mobile. SO excellent if you are on the move, or are at a salvage yard and spot something which takes your fancy! To use the service text DRIVEBUY space (Enter Registration number) and text to 83600.
I’ve used this service many times, its accurate, provides all the basic info, and is great for running a quick check on a car.

One point of note, if you are looking to buy an expensive or particularly exotic damaged car, I’d always recommend going for the full HPI, as it will be worth the extra money in the long run.
Although I’ve had no issues with the text services, It just doesn’t provide the level of detail as provided by HPI or Autocheck.

Watch out – some salvage cars may be listed as un-recorded, or may not show on the registers as recorded, but don’t assume this will always be the case. Some companies/insurers are known to be slow to register cars as write-off or uneconomical repairs. I haven’t heard of this happening often, but just something to consider.

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