HPI
What Do HPI Check?

Outstanding finance

HPI uses the UK's most accurate database of finance agreements, with over 7 million current records. 24 out of every 100 vehicles checked with HPI turn out to have outstanding car finance. If the loan remains unpaid when the car changes hands, you stand to lose the car or the money outstanding on it.

Previous damage

4 out of every 100 vehicles checked with HPI has been written-off as a result of damage or theft. Although some can be safely repaired and put back on the road, others are only fit for scrap. Since 1997, the HPI Check has used the Association of British Insurers' coding on the level of damage sustained, helping you tell the difference.

Inspection report

The HPI car history check will tell you if a vehicle that was previously declared a total loss has passed an independent structural examination and is now deemed as being roadworthy. If the seller cannot provide a Thatcham-approved inspection report, copies of most inspections are available from HPI at additional cost.

Stolen vehicles

HPI identifies nearly 30 stolen vehicles every day. Sourcing information from the Police National Computer, every day HPI confirms that over 100 vehicles for sale are actually stolen.

Plate transfer

15 out of every 100 cars checked by HPI has at least one plate change. Usually there is nothing to worry about, but a change of plate can be used to hide a car's past. By searching nearly 4 million records stretching back over 10 years - further than any other source - the HPI Check will investigate the reason for any plate change and reveal potential problems such as if the car was a write-off in a former life.

National Mileage Register

The HPI Check uses the database of the National Mileage Register to search around 125 million records. It provides the best intelligence available to protect against clocking and will help you decide whether the car that's showing a mileage of 32,000 may have actually covered 132,000 miles.

Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

HPI will tell you whether the VRM and VIN correspond to DVLA and DVLNI records. If they don't, you may be looking at a ringer. Always check that the vehicle's identification numbers stamped into the bodywork, on the chassis plate and behind the windscreen match the documentation and look original.

Vehicle identity

The HPI Check will reveal if the GTi that's caught your eye is really a CL in disguise. Using over 60 million entries recorded at the DVLA and DVLNI (N. Ireland), it confirms the make, model, derivative, where possible, (i.e. different types of a particular model such as special and luxury editions), door plan, vehicle's current colour & prior colour, transmission, and engine size, as well as how many times it has changed hands. You'll also be told the year the car was manufactured and the date it was first registered.

Security Watch

Many types of organisation (such as car rental companies) use HPI's Security Watch service to register vehicles that should not be put up for sale. The HPI Check will tell you if the car you want to buy is one of 120,000 vehicles that could be being sold illegally.