Autotrader vehicle check comparison, round up

Buying wisely without taking risk

Leading car check providers

UK motorists are all too aware of the pitfalls of buying a used car, bike, van or another light commercial. There are so many things to go wrong when buying second hand and the necessity of buying a service like an Autotrader car check has never been more important.

The more important things to check are those that directly impact on your investment. Such items include:

Outstanding finance

Car clocking

Mileage problems

Car accidents with insurance payouts that result with insurance category losses

Watch this hpi video on YouTube for more information on free and paid car checks.

Buying a used vehicle with any of the above issues will directly impact the value and road safety of the vehicle you plan to buy.

One example is buying a car with incorrect mileage. Such vehicles present a possible mechanic problem as you don’t really know how far the vehicle has travelled and its service history will be out of kilter.

Another is outstanding finance including hire purchase, lease purchase, PCP and other financial products. Should you buy a car with outstanding finance you are going to lose you’re the money paid for the vehicle and the vehicle itself. This is because the vehicle belongs to the finance company and not the person selling it. In fact, as Autotrader tell us, to sell such a vehicle is illegal.

What else does a good car check cover?

There are a number of car checking providers that you would already have heard of:

RAC Passport £14.99

Hpi check £19.99

Autotrader vehicle check £14.99

Total Car Check £9.99

Cazana £14.99

AA car check (affiliated with hpi) £14.99

My Car Check £9.99

CarVeto £12.50

But the latest checking service in this list is CarVeto. Their checks are similar to the above providers but the outcome is a little different. CarVeto offers a free car check to start with. This includes vehicle information, export status, road tax and MOT status and askMID car insurance check status.

They also provide a definitive answer as to whether a vehicle is good to buy, or not, but, you only get this via their Platinum Veto check service. It’s just one product on offer at a cost of £12.50. This is not the cheapest on the market or the most expensive. However, the data provided is almost identical to hpi checks except for the National Mileage Register (NMR). CarVeto digs the mileage data directly from the DVLA MOT history.

Note here that the Platinum Veto tells you of three options

Pass – vehicle eligible to buy Warning – vehicle requires a bit more investigation Fail – do not buy the vehicle with further investigation

It’s great to see such a direct answer for online car checks.

For me, CarVeto is the preferred option for a vehicle check. Their prices are competitive with hpi and Autotrader car check, a cover of the best quality and their customer service is exceptional.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, CarVeto Platinum includes a clinically used car buying guide that is exceptional.

The team, Faster and Faster