Used Car
History Checks
A used car may look good - but it could be
stolen, previously crash damaged and written-off, or still on loan finance. This page
explains how you can check a car and a car's history before you buy it. It also provides
tips for avoiding problems when buying a car and some of the signs to watch out for if a
car may not be all that it seems.
These quick links will take you to the
relevant section.
Before buying a used car it makes sense to
check the history of the vehicle. If buyers want to check a car has not been stolen, or to
check the last change of owner, a vehicle history check can do this. A used car check can
give you a report which can reveal important information about the ownership of the car,
and potentially, its safety. A car check report cannot give you a guarantee that the car
is safe or that it is even a good car - but what it can do is warn you if there is a known
problem.
- Stolen Cars
Around 400,000 cars are stolen in the UK each year. Figures from the British Crime Survey
also indicate there are an estimated 30,000 - 40,000 vehicles being ringed or cloned each year, and according to the latest police data,
an estimated 33,000 number plates were stolen during 2005. Each year, thousands of unsafe
cars are put back on the road after accident repairs and many more are stolen. Over a
third of stolen cars aren't recovered and could be sold on to the public.
If you buy a stolen car, the police can take it away from you and return the car to the
rightful owner. Buying a car in good faith does not give you title (legal ownership) to
the car if it was stolen. If the car has been stolen and an insurance company has
already paid out on the claim, then the car may become the property of the insurance
company. If you have taken out a loan to buy the car, then you may still have to pay off
the loan even though you no longer have the car. You will not get any compensation.
You could try to take action against the seller, but if the car was stolen the seller may
not be co-operative or easy to trace!
- Safety
Each year around 250,000 cars are classed as an insurance write-off.
Many are then put back on to the road and sold on to unsuspecting buyers. In some cases a
new car is created using a method called cut and shunt.
There is never a guarantee that the car you are buying is safe. But knowing how to check a
car and its history can help you reveal the type of discrepancies that can give away this
type of practice.
- Discrepancies
Consumers have limited legal protection when buying used cars from private sellers. The
only principle which applies to a private seller is that the vehicle must not be wrongly
described. However most sales between private sellers and buyers do not include a detailed
written contract or description of the car and its condition, and then it is one person's
word against another. An example of the type of deception which can be used to increase
the value of the car is clocking.
- Unpaid Hire Purchase
If you buy a car and owner has unpaid financing outstanding on the vehicle, you can find
yourself in a three way dispute with the financing company and the seller as to who is now
the legal owner of the car. Car Checking companies report that up to 1 in 5 cars that are
checked are found to have some financing agreement. Sometimes people having problems
keeping up the repayments can opt to sell the car in the hope of releasing themselves from
the commitment.
A car check report can indicate if the car is recorded with a finance company. Some car
check companies include some insurance cover for the buyer in case a car is subsequently
found to be subject to a finance agreement, this may be included in the cost of the used
car report and provided subject to terms and conditions.
There is no universal format for a used car history report. However these are some of
the items which a car check report can show.
- Make colour and model of the vehicle
- Last change of owner/registered keeper
- Whether vehicle is reported as subject to finance
- Whether the vehicle is reported as stolen
- Whether the vehicle has been declared a write off by
an insurance company
- Whether the vehicle has been recorded as exported or imported
- Whether the vehicle has been recorded as scrapped
These are commercial companies that provide
online car checking services. With some you can enter the vehicle registration number and
then pay by credit card for a report straight-away.
United Kingdom
- Car
Check
The generic name for the service. Has used car history checks on any UK vehicle online.
- The AA
Automobile Association service. AA Car Data Check is now part of the Experian group.
- HPI
HPI was the original checking service for Hire Purchase Information. Now part of Norwich
Union.
USA
- Auto
Check
Full used car checks on US vehicles. AutoCheck is now part of the Experian group.
- CarFax
Well known US car check service from CarFax Inc.
Buying a used car is about knowing
how to check a car and also how to check the seller.
- Be cautious if the seller gives you only a mobile phone number. They can
be almost impossible to trace.
- Be careful if you are given a specific time to call the seller - they
could be taking the call from a public phone box.
- When you telephone the seller the first time, and you believe that the
seller is a private seller, always ask about 'the car' - do not specify the make or model.
If the seller has to ask which car you are interested in, then it suggests the seller
regularly sells cars, or may be a dealer.
- Think in advance about the time you agree to see the vehicle. In winter
daylight hours are shorter, so make sure you arrange to see the vehicle in the daylight.
- Take a friend with you when visiting the seller.
- Always see the car at the seller's home, and make sure you both go into
the place that they claim is their home.
- Do not agree to the seller bringing the vehicle to you. It may seem
convenient, but you need to know where the seller lives.
- When the seller is showing you the car, watch closely to see if they seem
totally familiar with the car.
- Does it look like they have owned it themselves for a while and they know
instinctively where everything is.
- Never buy a vehicle without a registration document or certificate (known
as ''registration certificate') even if the seller says it has been sent to the DVLA
(Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) for changes.
- Hold the registration certificate up to the light and check that there is
a DVLA watermark within the layers of paper. Look closely to check that a fraudulent
watermark has not been printed on to the surface of the paper.
- The registration certificate is not a document of title - it does not
prove that the person selling you the vehicle is the same person whose name is shown on
the registration certificate, or that the seller is the legal owner or has the right to
sell the vehicle.
- Ask the seller for original forms of photo-identification such as a
drivers license and a passport. Write down the identity numbers shown on these documents,
and if possible take a photocopy.
- Ask the seller for copies of recent utility bills which show their name
and address. Check that all the forms of identity and address you are being shown, all
match and correspond.
- When you know what make and model car you are interested in, and find out
where the vehicle's identification number (VIN) should be. The VIN is a unique number
stamped on to different parts of the body of the car often under the bonnet or in the
floor panel on the driver's side.
- Check that the 17 character VIN matches the VIN on the registration
certificate. If not, something is almost certainly wrong.
- Be suspicious if the VIN shows any sign of having been tampered with.
- Check the area surrounding where the VIN is stamped. Look for any signs of
alteration.
- A 'Q' registration number indicates that the age or identity of a vehicle
is unknown. The vehicle may be rebuilt from parts, some or all of which may not be new.
This also applies to vehicles imported without supporting evidence to identify the
vehicles age.
- If a registration mark or part VIN is etched on the windows ensure it
matches the registration certificate.
- Check carefully underneath stickers, they are sometimes used to conceal
things.
- Check the engine number match the registration certificate.
- Check whether the engine been interfered with or changed.
- Thieves often change a lock if it is damaged after entry, so look to see
if all the locks match.
- Look for any signs of forced entry.
- Check if the locking petrol cap been forced or replaced.
- It is always worth getting the vehicle inspected by a professional
consider or taking an independent qualified examiner with you to see the vehicle.
- Check a car's history with a service offered by vehicle history check
companies.
Where Does Car Data
Come From?
The
DVLA (Drivers and
Vehicle Licensing Authority) holds the main records about all the vehicles licensed in the
UK. They in turn can provide data on vehicles to companies that are approved and Licensed
to hold the data and to offer car checking services to the public. These services then
combine data from other private or public sources to provide as full as possible details
on the history of the car.
Sources of data include
- Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Authority
Ringed
A ringed car is one where the registration number of one car - typically
one that's been written-off - is given another car to change that vehicle's identity -
often because it has been stolen. In these cases the vehicle identification number (VIN)
can also be forged making these cars very hard to detect.
Back Up
Cloned
Cloned cars are cars which have been stolen and then sold on with a new identity.
Criminal gangs will often steal a car to order - one which has a specific make and colour.
They then give the stolen car the same registration number and other identifying marks of
another existing car. Now, the two cars appear identical, except one is the original car,
and the other is a stolen clone.
Police believe there are now thousands of cloned cars on Britain's roads. With more
buyers using the internet to choose cars and the massive growth in internet trading, more
cars are now sold on nationally rather than locally. This makes it far harder for police
to trace a "clone" that has been sold. If you receive a fine or a ticket from
somewhere that you have never been - then your car could have been cloned.
Back Up
Write Off
When a car is damaged beyond the cost of economic repair. This is sometimes called a
total loss. It arises where the likely cost of repairing a vehicle would exceed the value
of the car, taking into account the salvage value.
Back Up
Cut and Shunt
When the front of one car is damaged beyond repair it is matched with another car where
the back was damaged beyond repair. The two cars are cut in half, and the two undamaged
halves of the cars are welded together to make one, apparently undamaged car.
Back Up
Clocking
A clocked car is one where the mileage shown has been reduced by turning
back the odometer - the dial showing the number of miles covered, or replacing it. The
motive is to increase the value of the car by making it appear to have had less use. As a
guide a car will normally cover just over 10,000 miles per year, so if you think the
mileage is very low for the age and condition of the car you may want to check further.
Back Up
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