Commercial Vehicle Reports

There are a number of companies that can provide vehicle data. The upside is that you can get far more detailed information that you would from the DVLA or any other website.

The downside - it'll cost some money. It varies from a couple of pounds up to about twenty for a full report. If you are looking for a simple report with just the basics for a car that's several years old and that perhaps costs less than two thousand pounds then a simple check might suffice, but if you are investing your cold hard-earned cash into your dream car then be happy about spending twenty pounds on a full report - you don't want to find out in a couple of months that it's an insurance write-off, it's got outstanding finance on it or it's stolen - you might lose your car.

Although there are several companies offering reports, there are principally two companies that have the source data. They are HPI (www.hpicheck.com) and CDI (www.cdlvis.com) and they both sell their own data AND resell it to other companies such as:

Each has strengths and weaknesses, so browse through them and decide what you need to know. If you need to check out a few cars then some such as Instant Car Check offer substantial discounts for 5 vehicle checks.

Check whether you actually need the additional checks they perform (outstanding finance - if the car is quite old you probably won't need this option).