How our car checks work

MOT history: DVSA

Recorded test results, failures, advisories and mileage readings help you see how the car has been maintained. Coverage depends on age, testing history and the records available. An MOT is a test on a particular date, not a promise about the car's condition today.

Vehicle details: DVLA

The vehicle record supplies registration details such as make, colour and tax status. Compare these with the advert and the vehicle. These details do not provide the seller's identity or establish legal ownership.

Paid register checks: licensed suppliers

The Full Report adds returned finance, stolen, insurance write-off, keeper and plate records, along with other available datasets. Coverage varies by vehicle and source. A result saying no record was found means no record was returned at that lookup; it does not prove that an event never happened.

The Trust Score is a formula

The score out of 100 uses a fixed formula applied to the returned records. Your report shows the recorded findings behind it. It is guidance for investigating a car, not a mechanical inspection, a guarantee or a prediction of a future MOT result. A high score cannot rule out an unrecorded problem.

General model reliability research and the price forecast use AI and are labelled in the report. Model research describes possible faults to look for; it does not diagnose the individual car. These are separate from the factual register results and the Trust Score.

Your report is a dated record

The £14.99 Full Report is one purchase with 12 months’ access and a downloadable PDF. It preserves the results from your original lookup. Reopening your emailed link does not refresh the registers or buy new data. Read each result’s lookup date, especially if you return to a car later.

Check the physical car too

Compare the VIN on the car with the V5C, check the seller’s authority to sell, examine repair and service evidence and consider an independent inspection. Missing history, unreported damage and cloned plates are reasons to combine the report with physical and document checks.