The Best Car Check for Used Car Buyers in the UK

Most car checks do one thing. They check the car.

They tell you whether it has outstanding finance. Whether it's been written off. Whether the mileage has been tampered with. All of that matters. But it's only half the picture.

The other half is who you're buying from.

Why we built it

What we set out to build

We wanted to build something for the buyer who has found a car they like, on a budget they can just about stretch to, and doesn't want to get it wrong.

Not a petrolhead. Not a mechanic. Someone who needs a car, has done their research, and wants to know — is this one safe? Is this person legitimate? And if it goes wrong, what do I have?

That's who we built this for.

We also didn't want to drown anyone in data. A report that shows you everything tells you nothing. We wanted someone to finish reading and know exactly what to do next.

Free tier

The free check — before you've decided anything

The first thing we built was free. Because before you spend money on a check, you need to know if the car is even worth checking.

Type in the registration. You get back the things that matter at the browsing stage.

✓Current MOT status
✓Mileage — does it look right for the age
✓ULEZ compliance — matters if you're driving into a city
✓Engine size and insurance group
✓Manual or automatic

Not everything. The right things. The things that tell you whether to add it to your shortlist or move on.

We built the free check so you can run it on every car you're considering, without paying for every car you're considering. Narrow the field first. Then go deeper on the ones that make the cut.

Full report

The full report — when you've made your shortlist

Once you've got your shortlist, that's when you need to know everything.

Not everything about the car. Everything about the situation.

The car

Has it been in a crash. Has it been written off and put back together. Is it still subject to outstanding finance — because if it is, the finance company can repossess it from you even after you've paid. Has the mileage been clocked. Has it been stolen and given a clean plate.

These are yes or no questions. They have yes or no answers.

The seller

Is this a real business or just a name on a listing. How long have they been trading. What are their customers saying — not the headline rating, the pattern underneath it. Who are the people behind it and is there anything in their history that should give you pause.

This is what everyone else misses. The car can be clean. The seller can still be the problem.

Your rights

They depend entirely on how you're buying. Collecting the car in person is different from buying it remotely. A dealer is different from a private seller. The same problem, the same car, the same outcome — but completely different rights depending on how the transaction worked.

We tell you which situation you're in and what that means. In plain English. Before anything goes wrong, while you can still do something about it.

Three actions

Specific to what we found. Not a generic checklist — the actual things that matter for this car and this seller. Before you hand over any money.

What we left out

Valuations to five decimal places. Finance tables. Insurance comparisons. Tyre specifications. OE build sheets.

All of that is somewhere else on the internet for free if you want it. It isn't what you need in the moment you're deciding whether to trust someone with several thousand pounds.

We left it out on purpose.

Who it's for

Who this is for

Anyone buying a used car privately or from a smaller dealer, who wants to know they've done everything reasonable before they commit.

The 22 year old buying their first car on £3,000 who can't afford to get it wrong

The parent helping their kid buy something reliable for university

The person who's been burned before and wants to know it won't happen again

Not mechanics. Not enthusiasts. People who need a car and need the listing to be telling the truth.

Have you Legit checked it?

Before the viewing. Before the test drive. Before the bank transfer.