Buying Guide · 5 min read
Car History Checks Explained: HPI, MOT History and Mileage Verification
A used car's history tells you more than any test drive. The good news is that most of it is free to check in minutes — and the paid part costs less than a tank of fuel. Here's how the professionals read a car's past, and how to do the same before you buy.
What an HPI check actually covers
'HPI check' has become the generic name for a provenance check (HPI is one provider; others include Experian and the AA). For around £10–20 it reveals the things a seller might not:
- Outstanding finance — the single most important check. If there's finance on the car, the lender owns it, not the seller, and it can be repossessed from you.
- Insurance write-off history (Cat A/B/S/N) and what category it was recorded under.
- Stolen-vehicle markers against the police national computer.
- Plate changes and previous registrations — innocent in themselves, but worth asking why.
- Mileage discrepancies recorded across the national mileage register.
MOT history: the free goldmine
The government's MOT history service is free, takes a registration, and shows every test since 2005 — passes, failures, advisories and the mileage recorded at each test. Ten minutes here tells you how the car has really been treated.
Read it like this: a string of advisories that get fixed by the next test means a cared-for car; the same advisory repeated for three years means an owner who patched the minimum. Failures for brakes, suspension or corrosion deserve follow-up questions; a failure for a blown bulb means nothing.
Spotting mileage tampering
Clocking has returned in the digital era because mileage is now stored in software. The defence is cross-referencing:
- Plot the MOT mileages year by year — the line should climb steadily. A dip, or a sudden flat year on a commuter car, is a red flag.
- Compare wear to the claimed mileage: a '40,000-mile' car with a shiny-smooth steering wheel, worn pedal rubbers and a sagging driver's seat is telling you something.
- Check service records and old invoices for mileages that fit the story.
- An HPI check includes the national mileage register as a final cross-check.
What a write-off category really means
Cat A and B cars should never be back on the road. Cat S (structural damage, professionally repaired) and Cat N (non-structural — often cosmetic or electrical) can be legitimate buys at the right price, but the discount must be real, the repair quality verifiable, and you should expect the same discount again when you sell. For most buyers, especially on newer cars, a clean history is worth paying for.
Every car at Status Motor Group is HPI checked before it's offered for sale, and we'll happily walk you through the report and the MOT history on any car in stock — just ask. That transparency costs us nothing and tells you everything.