The Auto Expert Vehicle History Sample Report

Outstanding Finance

Our report extracts outstanding finance and debt data from Experian. When you buy a vehicle with outstanding finance, the vehicle’s ownership actually belongs to that finance company.

If the finance is not cleared and you bought the vehicle without knowing that, there is a high chance for the finance company to cease your vehicle. So, when buying the vehicle, it’s important to check whether the finance has been paid off.

You could use these details we provide to contact the finance company to know more updates (current status or any pending claims on its ownership) in the vehicle. Any information (Eg: finance paid off) will take a minimum of 5-10 days to get updated in our database.

Condition or Write-off

This info alerts you if the vehicle has been subject to an insurance total loss claim, or “Condition/Write Off”, because of damage or if it has been stolen and not recovered.

For vehicles that have been Condition/Write Off since January 1997, the classification from A to D was provided, and two new classifications were added in October 2017, N and S, which should over time replace the C and D classifications.

Cat A- can never be repaired or sold for parts, scrap only and vehicle should be crushed.

Cat B - severely damaged that the repairs are impossible. Parts are repairable but not permitted on roads and must be scrapped.

Cat C or S - You need to remember the cost of repair is more than the pre-accident value of the vehicle, and you have to re-register with the DVLA before taking it on the road.

Cat D or N - It has sustained non-structural damage that might have compromised its security. You can buy this car if the repairs made are satisfactory.

High Risk

This info provides you details of vehicles at high risk of fraud or theft (e.g., demonstrator vehicles, garage forecourt stock, or hire cars)..

If the report highlights the vehicle as “high risk “, it usually means that a third party has an interest in the vehicle and is trying to track its movement within the market to prevent it from being sold on without good title (e.g., unsettled finance /dispute). The marker could have been made in the previous ownership where any payment would have been failed or purchased fraudulently etc.,

We will highlight to you the risk type, period and contact details (where available). We would suggest it is best to avoid buying such vehicles unless the marker is removed, as you could be liable for the pending charges or face issues while re-selling in the future.

Stolen Record

Figures from the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency(DVLA) show that cars are stolen every seven minutes and a 33% increase on 2019. Our check will tell you if the vehicle you are looking to buy has an outstanding insurance interest/stolen record from the PNC.