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Total car check data you can trust
of used cars have hidden problems
Get the UK’s most competitive vehicle check for FREE. Great Total Car Check & HPI Check alternative. £7.99. Cheap HPI Vehicle Check.
Next Car Check Ltd. are not affiliated, associated, authorised, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with HPI Check® from HPI limited, Total Car Check, Instant Car Check, AA Car Check or My Car Check.
For complete peace of mind.
To help you find the right car, NextCarCheck have teamed up with Motor.Market to provide you with a hassle free apporach to buying your next car.
Choose from 1000s of cars, all independantly inspected by a NextCarCheck vehicle inspector!
Fixed rates from 7.9% APR, the exact rate you will be offered will be based on your circumstances, subject to status.
Representative example: Cash Price £5000, Deposit £0 Borrowing £5,000 over 5 years with a representative fixed APR of 24.9%, the amount payable would be £139.35 per month, with a total cost of credit of £3,361 and a total amount payable of £9,574.80
We look to find the best rate from our panel of lenders and will offer you the best deal that you’re eligible for. We do earn a commission. This does not influence the interest rate you’re offered in any way.
Finance Powered by motor.market who are credit broker and not a lender. Your vehicle may be repossessed if you do not keep up the repayments. i3.finance and motor.market is a trading style of i3 Technology Group Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The guidance provided within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore primarily targeted at consumers based in the UK.
Frequently Asked Questions
Simply go to https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax and enter the vehicle registration number. You’ll find the expiry date as well as how many days left.
Simply complete a standard Next Car Check for FREE. You’ll find the MOT history of the vehicle as provided by the DVLA. The report will show MOT failures, advisories and warnings. Incredibly important to check the MOT history when buying a new car.
Enter your registration number from the homepage then click on £5.99 Check. The report will show you if it’s a vehicle has been stolen, and when it was stolen.
Easy, just upgrade to our £7.99 vehicle check. It will you information on the contact number and the finance company which has financed the car if available
As part of a Standard and Enhanced Next Car Check, a car write off check is included in the report. We use information from the MIAFTR database and Experian to check if a car has been previously written off. Start a Next Car Check now on any car registered in the UK, today.
Insurance write-offs
When you make an insurance claim because your vehicle is damaged, your insurance company will tell you:
- if your vehicle is being ‘written off’
- how much they’ll pay you
When your vehicle is written off, your insurance company pays you the current value of the vehicle, instead of the cost of repairing it.
Your insurance company will decide if the vehicle should be written off or not.
Write-off categories
What you do next depends on which category your vehicle is in.
| Category | Repairing the vehicle | Using the vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| A | Cannot be repaired | Entire vehicle has to be crushed |
| B | Cannot be repaired | Body shell has to be crushed, but you can salvage other parts from it |
| C | Can be repaired, but it would cost more than the vehicle’s worth | You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition |
| D | Can be repaired and would cost less than the vehicle’s worth, but other costs (such as transporting your vehicle) take it over the vehicle’s value | You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition |
| N | Can be repaired following non-structural damage | You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition |
| S | Can be repaired following structural damage | You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition |
Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a Free HPI Check. However, many companies claim to provide an HPI Check Free. A ‘Free HPI Check’ will not provide you with the information needed to keep you protected from car scams and motor fraud.
By performing a free car check, you can check the data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and ensure you meet these minimum requirements. Just enter your registration. Use our basic check service to check the current MOT status of a vehicle.
Next Car Check offer three levels of check. The most Basic Check is free. Our Enhanced Check is £7.99 and comes with debt/finance, stolen, insurance write-off and imported/exported information. The standard Next Car Check Check will cost £3.99.
While it might cost you £79.00 to get it done (visit https://www.clickcarservicing.com/pre-purchase-inspection/), a pre-purchase inspection can save you thousands of pounds in the long run if any issues were to go unnoticed. In that sense, a Pre Purchase Inspection is worth every penny.
A pre-purchase inspection is highly recommended when purchasing a vehicle without a warranty, or when the vehicle is located in another city. When there is no warranty, the buyer is immediately assuming all the risk in the event of a breakdown or major mechanical issue. For this reason, a Pre Purchase Inspection makes financial sense. Vehicles in other cities present additional challenges when the purchaser is unable to take a test drive. With just a few clicks, you can often arrange a independent used car check.
The inspected areas include structural integrity, safety features, electrical and electronic systems, powertrain, suspension, fuel system, emissions, steering, comfort system (heat/air), security system, exhaust, interior, wheels and rims, and apparent state of general maintenance.
visit https://www.clickcarservicing.com/pre-purchase-inspection/
Next Car Check’s pre purchase inspections start from just £79.00 (visit https://www.clickcarservicing.com/pre-purchase-inspection/) and includes our enhanced vehicle history check data – completely free.
If the vehicle you’re interested in buying is one of these, then we’re not able to inspect it:
- Horse boxes
- American imports
- Kit cars
- Limousines
- Motorcycles
- London taxis / Hackney carriages
- Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes or trolley jacks
- Specific high-performance vehicles (supercars or hypercars)
We also can’t inspect:
- Disability controls and modifications – although we can check the vehicle
- Commercial refrigeration units fitted to vehicles – although we can check the vehicle
- Body tipping equipment fitted to a vehicle
- Tail lifts fitted for any vehicle
visit https://www.clickcarservicing.com/pre-purchase-inspection/
of used cars have hidden problems
Over 32,000 used cars were flagged to have a multitude of possible issues that should make prospective buyers very wary before handing over their cash
Issue discovered:
Number plate change
9,024 – 27.5 per cent
Outstanding finance
5,782 – 17.6 per cent
Insurance write-off
4,670 – 14.2 per cent
Import/export
627 – 1.9 per cent
Change of colour
465 – 1.4 per cent
Stolen
60 – 0.2 per cent
Scrapped
41 – 0.1 per cent
No issue/clean car
15,769 – 48.0 per cent
Source: RAC Vehicle Checks analysis of 32,856 vehicles
10 most common car problems, and the cars most likely to have them
Be aware of potential big repair bills on used cars as we reveal the most common problems and the models most likely to have them
Pre-Purchase Inspections
Check a used vehicle’s condition
Learn About Hidden Problems Before You Buy
Every Next Car Check Comes With A Personalised, Unbiased Review
from Carwow, AutoCar and more…
Our car reviews are totally independent and come with verdicts you can trust from the biggest names in the industry.
5 Star Google Reviews
Our Next Car Checks come with the highest levels of customer care and accuracy
Total Car Check are one of the best-known of the vehicle history and data check companies, it also has one of the cheapest car check – both for individual checks and those done as multiple car checks.
How much does a Total Car Check cost?
The basic check Total Car Check will confirm the basic details, such as mileage and MOT history. The Gold Total Car Check is £8.99 and will tell you if a car has been written-off, if a car has outstanding finance, if a car has been scrapped, if a car has been stolen and a valuation.
Silver Total Car Check – (Basic Check)
£1.99
Gold Total Car Check – Full Check
£8.99
Next Car Check are one of the most competitive car history check providers in the U.K.
We are the cheapest on the market, with out basic car check being just £0.00… Yes it’s free! Our enhanced vehicle check is also the most competitive in the U.K. for just £7.99! The Basic check will tell you about the vehicle details, MOT status and it’s MOT history. Go for the full checks and you’ll get a report into the vehicle’s finance history, written off information and stolen check.
How much does a Next Car Check Car Report Cost?
There are two levels of pricing for Next Car Check, including – unusually in this market – a free option.
The Standard car check is £3.99, our full-service option is just £7.99.
Basic Check
£3.99
Full History Check
£7.99
My Car Check
My Car Check has been operating since 2005.
It’s another one of the cheaper on the market, with £3.99 and £12.99 history check options.
How much does a My Car Check Car report cost?
The basic level of history check is £2.99, its full-service options are a single check for £10.99, a three bundle for £16.49 and the five bundle is £22.49.
Free history check*
Free
Basic history check*
£2.99
Full history check*
£10.99
£16.49 (for three); £22.49 (for five); £74.99 (for 20)
HPI Check
HPI is the best-known vehicle history check companies – so much so that “HPI check” has become the generic term for checking a car’s background.
There are two levels of cover: basic and the full HPI check. The basic service will tell you whether it has finance outstanding, has been stolen or written-off and has been exported/imported.
The full HPI check has a £30,000 guarantee and adds: finance agreement details, mileage discrepancies, MoT history, write-off details, number of previous owners, CO2, Vehicle Tax info, stolen Logbook check, if it’s recorded as scrapped, market valuation, past/future values and full plate change history.
HPI offers a clone check on its full HPI check service.
How much does a HPI Check cost?
There are two levels of pricing for an HPI car history check – £9.99 for the basic service and £19.99 for the full HPI check.
As with other vehicle history check providers, there’s a discount on offer for multiple checks. HPI charges £29.97 for three checks that can be redeemed within three years.
Basic HPI check*
£9.99
Full HPI check*
£19.99
£29.97 (for three)
RAC Vehicle History Checks
A full RAC vehicle check gives you a complete history check of the car including 10 alerts covering outstanding finance, if it’s been stolen, written off or scrapped and any mileage discrepancies. It also includes common breakdown reasons by make and model, common MoT failures, a vehicle valuation provided by Glass’s, average running costs and a guarantee of up to £30,000 to cover your car history check data.
How much does an RAC Vehicle History Check cost?
A basic RAC check is £9.99 while the full check, which includes everything listed above, is £14.99.
Basic check*
£9.99
Full history check*
£14.99
Five checks for £29.97 (£24.99 for RAC members)
Rapid Car Check
Rapid Car Check admits it may not be the cheapest history check company around but it says that its full ‘deluxe’ check is comprehensive and includes a stolen vehicle check, previously written off check, mileage discrepancies check, import/export check, colour change check and reg plate change checks.
How much does a Rapid Car Check report cost?
There are three different options with Rapid Car Check including a free option. This checks the vehicle’s details and the last three MoT reports, essentially the information you can get from the DVLA.
A standard history check is £2.95 but does not include a valuation, finance check or £30,000 data guarantee. The deluxe history check covers everything and is £8.99. You can buy three at £4.99 each or five at £3.99.
Free history check*
Free
Standard history check*
£2.95
Deluxe history check*
£8.99
£14.99 (for three); £19.89 (for five)
We reveal which vehicle check sites are up there with Next Car Check
for comprehensive and cost-effective car data checks
Clearly, we think that Next Car Check are the greatest car check provider in the U.K. However, we wanted to make sure that was the case!
So which is the best tool to check your car’s history? We tried eight to find out.
Having a car stolen is a traumatic experience, but thousands of people run the risk of having their vehicle taken away from them perfectly legally – and there’d be no hope of claiming for your loss on insurance.
If your pride and joy is found to be nicked or still owned by a finance company, then the police or a bank will want it back. The simplest way to avoid becoming a victim is to do a vehicle check by carrying out an online data check before you buy a car.
These are routinely used by dealers, but can now be done cheaply by anyone, with prices ranging from free to more than £20.
Even if they’re not stolen or have outstanding finance, plenty of cars have an ‘interesting’ history, which is worth investigating before you part with your cash.
Our Verdict – The best Next Car Check alternatives.
Total Car Check prices are among the lowest for both single checks and a package, yet the data it provides is comprehensive and easy to understand. We also loved the way it offered some crucial information for free.
Cazana’s single checks are pricey, but it makes a lot of sense for a multi-check package. It takes second place here, just ahead of the AA’s bargain-priced rebrand of the HPI site.
AA Car Check
Price (single check): £14.99
Price (five checks): £29.99
Rating: 4/5
Contact: www.theaacarcheck.com
The AA’s data check proudly proclaims it’s ‘powered by HPI’. In fact, it’s almost identical to the HPI check in every way, except for some AA branding and a much lower price.
That means it’s among the most comprehensive here in terms of data, including the ‘Fraud Guard’ section, which allows you to check the V5 serial number and car’s VIN against DVLA records.
Our only irritations were the lengthy sign-up process, scant valuation data and the £2.99 charge for recall data – especially given this is available for free on the DVLA’s MoT check site.
Total Car Check
Price (single check): £8.99
Price (five checks): £19.99
Rating: 5/5
Contact: https://totalcarcheck.co.uk
The first surprise about the TotalCarCheck site was how much data it gives away for free. It flags stolen cars, gives MoT info, mileages, recall and technical data without you having to pay a penny.
This is great for browsing through adverts and making a shortlist, and from there an £8.99 Gold Check adds finance status, insurance write-off listings and a series of valuations.
The only minor black mark is the mileage information – it’s only MoT data and doesn’t include figures supplied by the DVLA. But TotalCarCheck was among the cheapest for single and packaged tests, so is good choice.
Cazana
Price (single check): £14.99
Price (five checks): £19.95
Rating: 4.5/5
Contact: www.cazana.com
Cazana’s site isn’t initially quite as user-friendly as the best rivals, and very little data is supplied for free, but upgrading to a full check brings a wealth of information.
The most interesting was the scan for previous adverts of a car, allowing you to see the price and description if it’s been advertised before. Cazana also suggested a valuation, but it seemed optimistic in all of our examples. The estimated mileage figure seems to be based purely on MoT data, too.
For just one check, Cazana is pricey, but a package of five is four pence cheaper than our test winner (opposite).
Caranalytics
Price (single check): £8.95
Price (five checks): £36.91
Rating: 3.5/5
Contact: www.caranalytics.co.uk
It doesn’t look like the slickest of websites and has the occasional minor error, but Caranalytics offers one of the most comprehensive sets of check data.
In addition to all the expected information, you’re also given eight valuations, ranging from what you’d pay on a dealer forecourt, down to a trade-in price. Mileage information comes from multiple sources, too.
A single full check is cheap enough, at £8.95, and all subsequent checks are £6.99 each. This is fine if you’re only looking at a couple of cars, but will soon become expensive if you’re checking more than three.
Green Flag
Price (single check): £13.99
Price (five checks): £22.99
Rating: 3.5/5
The breakdown service provider describes its checks as an “HPI check alternative”. It’s certainly much cheaper; a single is £13.99, but a £22.99 package of five makes more sense. It’s not the cheapest here, but certainly good value for a trusted ‘brand name’. It takes a while to sign up, though, which might be an issue if you are checking details while looking at a car.
The data is presented clearly and there’s a full VIN check available. But the valuations were overly optimistic and the check missed a mileage anomaly for one of our samples.
RAC
Price (single check): £14.99
Price (five checks): £29.97
Rating: 3.5/5
Contact: vehicle-history-check.rac.co.uk
We initially presumed the RAC service was just a rebranded version of Green Flag’s check site because the sign-up and format are eerily similar. As with Green Flag, it has a full VIN check and includes common breakdown data for the model.
But the RAC report turned out to provide more accurate data, with better valuations covering trade-in and forecourt prices. It also picked up on our sample’s mileage discrepancy. That could be worth the extra £1 the RAC is asking per report, but it’s still expensive compared to some rivals here.
HPI
Price (single check): £19.99
Price (five checks): £49.95
Rating: 3/5
Contact: www.hpicheck.com
As with Hoover and Sellotape, the HPI brand has become a generic term for car data checks. It looks slick (along with the AA rebrand version), with a logical layout to the report and clear information. There’s also a ‘Fraud Guard’ area, which allows you to check serial numbers against HPI and DVLA databases.
However, a single check costs as much as five from our Best Buy winner. A package of three gets a discount, at £29.97, but that’s still pricey.
Instant Car Check
Price (single check): £5.95 – £13.93
Price (five checks): from £9.99
Rating: 3/5
Contact: www.instantcarcheck.co.uk
While HPI’s checks are expensive, its parent company offers this budget alternative. A ‘Basic’ check flags cars which are stolen, written off, scrapped or have had plate changes. The £5.95 ‘Gold’ pack adds a VIN match and valuation.
It looks good value, but the Gold pack doesn’t include the crucial finance or mileage checks, and adding those is £7.98 extra per car. More comprehensive reports elsewhere offer better value.