Enter a registration to check it against the police stolen vehicle marker, alongside finance and write off records, before any money changes hands.
✓Police stolen vehicle marker
✓Outstanding finance agreements
✓Insurance write off records
✓Keeper and plate change history
✓All included in the Full History report at £9.99
If a car turns out to be stolen it is returned to its legal owner or their insurer, and you lose both the car and the money you paid for it. Buying in good faith does not protect you, and recovering the cash from whoever sold it is usually impossible. This is the one check where the downside is total rather than a matter of overpaying.
Records are only part of the picture. Be wary if the seller wants to meet somewhere other than the address on the V5C, if the paperwork is missing or looks altered, if the price is conspicuously good, or if they push for cash and a quick handover. Check that the VIN on the car matches the logbook and the report, because a cloned car will have had its identity swapped for a legitimate vehicle's details.
Enter the registration and run the Full History report. It checks the police stolen vehicle marker along with outstanding finance and write off records for £9.99.
Report it to the police immediately. The car will be returned to its rightful owner or their insurer, and your route to recovering the money is a civil claim against the seller, which is rarely successful.