Free car check

A free car check is the quickest way to find out whether a car is what the advert says it is. You type in the registration, and a few seconds later you're looking at the same information the DVLA and DVSA hold: the make, model, colour and engine, whether it's taxed, whether it has a valid MOT, and the result of every MOT test it has ever had.

It costs nothing and you don't need to sign up. We built it that way on purpose. Most problems with a used car show up in the free data first, and there's no reason anyone should pay to find out a car has no MOT.

What our free car check shows

• Vehicle details. Make, model, colour, fuel type, engine size, year of manufacture and the date it was first registered. If any of these don't match the advert, ask the seller why before you go any further.
• Tax status. Whether the car is taxed, untaxed or declared off the road (SORN), and when the tax is due. Our car tax check page explains what each status means.
• MOT status and history. When the current MOT runs out, and every test since 2005 with its fails, advisories and the mileage recorded at the time. See our MOT check for more on reading it.
• Mileage readings. Every recorded mileage in date order. If a reading is lower than the one before, we flag it, because that's one of the clearest signs of a clocked car.
• Export marker. Whether the DVLA has been told the car is being exported. A car marked for export shouldn't normally be for sale in the UK.
• ULEZ estimate. A quick read on whether the car is likely to meet London's ULEZ rules, based on its fuel type and Euro emissions standard.

What a free check can't tell you

Here's the honest part. The records that protect your money aren't public. Finance agreements are held by finance companies, write-offs by the insurance industry and stolen markers by the police. None of that is in the DVLA or DVSA data, so no genuinely free check can show it, whatever the website says.

That matters because they're the expensive problems:

• A car with outstanding finance can be taken back by the lender, even after you've paid for it.
• A written-off car is usually worth far less than a clean one and can be harder to insure.
• A stolen car will be returned to its owner, and you'll lose what you paid.

If the free check looks right and you're serious about the car, the Full check (£8.99) adds all of those, plus salvage history, previous keepers, plate changes and a valuation. You can see exactly what's in it on the sample report.

How to use the free check when you're buying

Run it as soon as you find a car you like, before you arrange a viewing. It takes seconds and it'll save you a wasted trip more often than you'd think. Look for three things:

1. Does it match the advert? Colour, engine size and age should all line up. A mismatch can be an innocent mistake, or a sign the plates don't belong to that car.
2. Is the MOT history healthy? A couple of advisories that get fixed are normal. The same problem noted year after year, getting worse, isn't.
3. Does the mileage only go up? Readings should climb steadily. Our mileage check page explains what to do if one doesn't.

When you go to see the car, read the registration off the car itself and make sure the VIN on the car matches the V5C logbook. A check on the right registration is only useful if it's the right car.

Free car check or full vehicle history?

Think of the free check as a filter. It rules out cars that aren't what they claim to be, and it's often all you need for a cheap runaround or a car you're only curious about. If you're about to hand over real money, the paid car history check is the one that covers the risks you can't see. Plenty of people run free checks on a whole shortlist, then pay for a Full check on the one they want to buy.