What does an HPI check actually show you?
A field by field walk through of a UK vehicle history report: what each section means, which parts matter most, and how to read a result that is not clear cut.
DATA · 5 min read
Write-off category
This is the MIAFTR record, and it tells you whether an insurer has written the car off and under which category. Cat A and Cat B should never be back on the road. Cat S means structural damage, and the car gets a new logbook with the category recorded on it. Cat N means non-structural damage. Older records may show C or D from the pre-2017 system. The report shows the category and usually the date of loss, which matters: a write-off recorded eight years ago and properly repaired is a different proposition to one from last spring.
Outstanding finance
The presence or absence of a reported hire purchase or PCP agreement, and where available the lender and agreement date. The finance company owns the car until the agreement is settled. A private buyer who bought in good faith without knowing is protected by the Hire Purchase Act 1964, but a trader buying stock is not, and neither is anyone buying a leased car, so for them this section can cost both the car and the money. A record is not automatically a dealbreaker, but it means paying the lender directly rather than the seller.
Stolen marker
Whether the vehicle is currently recorded as stolen on the Police National Computer. It is a live marker, and a positive result means walk away and report it rather than negotiate. Some reports distinguish stolen from stolen and recovered, which is a materially different history: a car taken and returned undamaged is very different from one stripped and rebuilt.
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Mileage register
Readings collected from MOTs, servicing, finance and trade sources, with dates and where each came from. Read the sequence rather than the latest number. Any reading lower than an earlier one is close to conclusive evidence of adjustment, and a sudden change in annual mileage just before a sale is worth questioning even when nothing goes backwards.
Identity and change history
Previous registration numbers, colour changes and the number of former keepers. A plate change is often innocent, someone taking a private plate with them, but it can also be used to distance a car from a history, so it is worth knowing about. A colour change that was never notified to the DVLA is a small warning about the last owner's paperwork generally. A high keeper count on a young car usually means it has been sold on quickly and repeatedly, which is rarely because it was a pleasure to own.
Reading a result that is not clear cut
Most reports come back with something on them, and the skill is weighing it. Ask three questions of any marker: how old is it, does it match what the seller told you, and does it match the car in front of you. An old Cat N the seller volunteered and priced in is fine. A recent Cat S the seller never mentioned is a different conversation. Run ours at /hpi-check and read it alongside the free MOT history rather than instead of it.
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Related guides
- The cheapest, most reliable makes to buy at salvage auction - We joined recorded salvage closing bids to DVSA pass rates by make. Seven makes undercut the market median and beat the national MOT average; one does neither.
- How to check if a car has been written off - Worried a used car is a hidden write-off? The free and paid ways to check a UK car's history, and what each one actually tells you.
- MOT history: the free goldmine most buyers ignore - The free government MOT history record tells you more about a used car than the seller ever will. How to read it like a mechanic.