Salvage Prophet vs Experian AutoCheck: what's actually different?
Experian AutoCheck trades on the Experian name from credit checking. What its report covers, what is free to find out first, and when it is worth paying.
DATA · 4 min read
The short answer
Experian AutoCheck is a paid UK vehicle-history report from the same Experian best known for credit reports, built around outstanding finance, insurance write-off category and stolen-vehicle checks. Our free Vehicle History Checker gives you the official DVSA MOT history, mileage timeline and any Copart UK auction record we hold, before you spend a penny. If that leaves a gap, our own Full HPI Report at /hpi-check now covers the same confirmed write-off, finance and stolen data directly.
Why the Experian name carries weight here
Experian is one of the UK's three main credit reference agencies, and that reputation for holding serious financial records transfers naturally to car buyers evaluating a vehicle-history brand. The AutoCheck product licenses the same core registers every paid UK provider draws on: the MIAFTR insurance write-off database, finance company records shared across lenders, and the DVLA and police stolen-vehicle marker. The brand recognition is real; the underlying data sources are shared industry-wide, not exclusive to Experian.
What our free checker covers that a basic paid report doesn't
We pull the full MOT and mileage timeline straight from the DVSA API, so every test, advisory and odometer reading is free and instant, no report purchase needed first. Any Copart UK auction history we hold for that specific car shows up too, which is first-party data no general provider carries because we captured it ourselves, not licensed it. For most UK-only cars with no import history, the everyday questions, is the mileage consistent, is the MOT current, has it failed on anything serious, are answered by our free tools alone.
Where you now have a direct alternative to AutoCheck
Confirmed insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and stolen markers live in registers only licensed commercial providers can query. Experian is one; we are now one too. Our Full HPI Report, 5 credits per lookup with no subscription needed, pulls that same MIAFTR write-off, finance and stolen-marker data on top of the free MOT and mileage picture, in one report, without sending you to a separate provider.
Do not pay twice for the same data
It is common to buy an AutoCheck report, then buy a second one from a different provider out of habit or doubt, and end up paying for overlapping write-off and finance data twice. Compare providers on what a report actually contains, not the name on it. If our free MOT and mileage picture already answers your real questions about a car, our own paid report is usually the simpler next step for whatever is still missing, not a separate purchase elsewhere.
The practical order to do it in
Run our free MOT, mileage and status check first, it costs nothing and takes seconds. If the car's paper trail looks clean and it has stayed in the UK its whole life, that is often enough to bid with confidence. If real money is on the line, or something in the history looks incomplete, run our Full HPI Report for the confirmed write-off, finance and stolen data, or Experian AutoCheck if you prefer a second opinion. Filter for free across every car you are considering, then pay once on the one you are actually going to bid on.