Vehicle history checks – why are they so important?

17/12/2009

Vehicle history checks – why are they so important?

If you are buying a second hand car, then getting vehicle history checks could prove invaluable. This is because they literally uncover the vehicle’s history, and look at things such as whether it has been stolen, involved in an accident or if there is any outstanding Hire Purchase (car finance) on it.

You may wonder why things are so important? Well, all of these things can make a difference as to whether you should actually buy the car or van - especially so the last one. If there is any outstanding finance on the car, you could well be liable to pay this finance back yourself, even though you would have already paid the seller for the car. Or you could face having the vehicle repossessed and without getting your own money back either. This means you could be paying for a set of wheels that you don’t actually have.

So, how do you find any skeleton’s in your vehicle’s closet?

There are online vehicle history checks that may help you uncover any hidden information about your vehicle that the seller may not want you to know. This may typically include:

•    whether it has been previously stolen or written off;
•    if there is any outstanding finance on the vehicle;
•    whether it has had any number plate or colour changes;
•    confirmation of the vehicle’s VIN & Engine Number;
•    the number of previous keepers.

The price of these car data checks vary from provider to provider but you can expect to pay around £20 to check the history of one vehicle.
You may think that this is a lot to spend out, but think about it the other way – how would you feel if you bought an unsafe vehicle or one that was registered to another keeper because it was stolen? Or how would you feel if you found that your vehicle had outstanding finance on it?
For a little outlay now, vehicle history checks can potentially save you a lot of heart ache and financial loss in the future.

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