The checks to run before buying a used car, in order
A running order for a private used car purchase: what to check before you travel, what to check at the viewing, and what to run on the day you pay.
BUYING · 5 min read
Before you travel: the free desk checks
Ask for the registration in the first message, and treat a refusal as an answer. With the reg you can pull the full DVSA MOT history for free: every pass, fail, advisory and mileage reading. You can confirm make, model, colour, engine and tax status from the DVLA. Ten minutes at a desk will rule out a meaningful share of cars before you have spent a penny on fuel, and it costs you nothing but the time.
What to look for in that free data
Check the mileage sequence for any reading lower than an earlier one, and for a sudden slowdown before the sale. Read the advisories in order and look for the same item recurring year after year, which means it was never fixed. Look at how close each MOT was to expiry, because a car consistently tested at the last possible moment tends to be a car maintained the same way. Check the colour on the DVLA record matches the photos in the advert.
At the viewing: identity and condition
Match the VIN on the car against the V5C, at the windscreen base and in the door shut. Confirm the seller is the registered keeper and that you are at the address on the document. Then check whether the physical wear matches the claimed mileage: pedals, steering wheel, seat bolster and gearknob. Look for overspray, mismatched panel gaps and paint depth differences that suggest repairs the seller has not mentioned.
On the day: the paid check
Run the licensed check on the day money moves, not the week before. Outstanding finance and the stolen marker are both live records that can change between your first viewing and the handover, and a report dated a fortnight ago is weaker evidence of both. This is the point at which paying is genuinely worth it, because the three things it covers, finance, theft and an undisclosed write-off, are the three that can cost you the entire purchase price rather than a repair bill.
How the money should move
If the check is clear, pay by bank transfer to an account in the registered keeper's name, never cash to a third party. If finance shows, pay the settlement figure directly to the lender and only the balance to the seller, once the lender confirms closure. Get a written receipt with both names, the registration, the VIN, the price and the date. Complete the V5C keeper change at the point of handover rather than promising to do it later.
The three checks in one line
Free MOT history before you travel, VIN against V5C at the viewing, licensed check on the day. Our free vehicle history checker covers the first, and the Full HPI Report at /hpi-check covers the last, including MIAFTR write-off records, outstanding finance, the police stolen marker and the mileage register.