What is a HPI check

Basically  HPI checks are 'Peace of Mind' when buying a car.

It will check the history of the car you want to buy to ensure that it has not been
stolen, cloned, ringed, clocked, written off or has no outstanding finance against it.

What are the risks if I don't get a HPI check ?

The car could have been written off or stolen.
Almost half a million cars every year are reported by insurers to be too badly damaged to be repaired safely. However, some of these cars find their way back onto the roads.
The HPIcheck website states that on average 4 in 100 cars that they check have been written off by insurers.

Some 375,000 vehicles are stolen in the UK every year.  HPI check identifies nearly 30 stolen vehicles every day. Many are sold as 'bargains' to unsuspecting buyers.
If you buy a stolen car and the police trace it to you, you may be able to prove you purchased it legitimately but it will still have to be returned to it's rightful owner and you will have lost your money.

It could have outstanding finance against it.
Over 7 million vehicles are purchased in the UK using some form of finance.
Outstanding loans against vehicles is the biggest risk when buying a car.
HPIcheck website states that 24 out of 100 cars they check still had a finance
agreement in place against the car.

If the loan remains unpaid when you purchase the vehicle, you will not acquire title to it (you will not own it), nor will you be protected by the 'Sale of Goods Act (1979)'.  The finance agreement will state that ownership of the vehicle remains with the finance company until the loan is paid.

Is it clocked or cloned ?
Clocking is when the mileage on a vehicle has been altered so it appears that the vehicles has done less miles than it really has. HPI checks will identify if there are any discrepancies with the mileage history.

Cloning (or ringing) is when a genuine car has its identity copied onto stolen vehicle. Meaning that there will be 2 or more cars on the road with the same identity. You could end up purchasing a stolen car, and when the police eventually find it they will take the car in order to find the criminals and return it to its original owners.
 

A HPI check will check against all these things and will ensure that you do not loose money or end up driving you and your family around in an unsafe vehicle.
 

What do I need to perform a HPI check ?
You will need the registration of the vehicle as well as the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) or Chassis number. The full HPI check costs about £40,
so you will need a method of payment.

MORE INFO

Online car check.

A HPI online car check should also include the HPI Guarantee which provides up to £10,000 reimbursement of financial losses should you suffer arising from inaccurate or incomplete information provided by HPI as part of the HPI Check.

I have had HPI checks done or provided to me for almost every car I have ever purchased. I have paid for them myself when buying from private sellers, and when I have purchased a car from a garage I have either asked for a copy of their HPI report or asked them to pay for one before I parted when my hard earned cash.

You have to ask yourself what type of garage would not already have a HPI check for a vehicle or would not be willing supply one for a prospective customer.

HPI checks are very easy to obtain nowadays, you can telephone hpicheck and buy your report over the phone or even simpler you can perform the check online in the comfort of your own home.

Many companies check car history, however I understand that they all get their information from the same source ;

www.hpicheck.com

HPI have been checking the history of used cars since 1938.
They were the first to introduce this invaluable service and their many years of experience
in the industry have made 'getting an HPI Check' a commonly used phrase.
If you want a vehicle history check carried out by the real experts, always look for the official HPI logo.  They have access to more car data than anyone else and their thorough investigations have helped hundreds of thousands of people avoid purchasing cars that have been stolen, clocked, written-off, or that have unpaid finance against them,
saving them from unnecessary costs and heartache.

There is no such thing as a cheap car check.  You want to find out as much info
about your new purchase as possible, so don't cut corners on a cheap car check.
The money you spend on a FULL check will be well worth it, it will give you peace
of mind that you will not be loosing money on your new motor.