How dealers can show buyers a vehicle history check

When to run the check

Run it when the car comes into stock, before you price it and before you spend money preparing it. That way a finance marker or a write-off record shows up while you can still do something about it.

Then run it again close to handover if the car has sat on the forecourt for a while. Records can change. A finance agreement can be added or settled, and new MOT readings appear after a test. A buyer will trust a report dated last week far more than one from three months ago.

What to go through with the buyer

Sit down with the report and go section by section. Buyers tend to care about these first:

• Identity. Check the registration, make, model and VIN on the report against the car and its V5C log book, together. It takes a minute and it reassures people.
• Outstanding finance. Show the result and the date it was checked. If a finance agreement was found and you've settled it, show the settlement paperwork too.
• Write-off and theft records. Show the result. If the car has a write-off category, say so up front and explain what the category means.
• Mileage. Walk through the dated readings and point out that they climb in a sensible way. If there's an odd reading, explain it before the buyer finds it.
• Keeper changes. Show the number of changes. Don't read too much into it either way. A keeper change doesn't prove the car was sold.

Our guide to write-off categories is a good one to have open if a buyer asks what a category means.

Be clear about what a report can't tell them

This is the part that builds trust. Tell the buyer, in plain words:

• No record found isn't a guarantee. Unreported damage, for example, may never show up anywhere.
• A history report isn't an inspection. It says nothing about the car's mechanical condition today, its service history or, on an electric car, battery health.
• Our reports don't currently include auction records or auction photos.
• It doesn't name previous keepers and it doesn't prove who legally owns the car.

Our coverage page sets out what each section can and can't show, so you can point a buyer to it.

Point them to the free government checks too

GOV.UK suggests buyers check that a car's details match DVLA's vehicle information and look at its MOT history. Both are free. Encourage buyers to use them. If everything lines up with your report, that's one more reason for them to buy from you.

GOV.UK also tells buyers to look at the V5C and check the VIN and engine number match it. Have the log book ready at viewing so they can.

At handover

Show the report on screen or print the PDF and go through it with the buyer.

You can give the buyer the report you ran, unedited, as long as it stays with that car. Check it's the report for that exact car and look at the date on it, because a saved report shows the records on the day you ran it.

Report access lasts 30 days, so download the PDF while you can if you want to keep it with the car's file.

If a buyer wants to run their own check as well, let them. It's a good sign they're serious, and a confident seller doesn't mind.

Making it routine

If you check every car that comes in, a pack of credits works out cheaper per report than buying single reports. Your team can also share one business workspace. See trade packs and the business plan.

If you're selling your own company cars, see what a buyer's check will show on fleet cars.

Questions dealers ask

Do I have to give a buyer a history check?

No law says you must hand one over. But a report you've already run, shown honestly with its limits, answers the questions most buyers have and saves them buying one.

How old can a history check be before I run it again?

There's no fixed rule. Records like finance agreements and MOT readings can change, so if the car has been in stock for a while, run a fresh one before handover.

What if the report shows a write-off category?

Tell the buyer before they ask, and explain what the category means. Hiding it tends to come out later and costs you far more than the deal.

Can a buyer rely on a report I ran?

They can read it, check the date and compare it with the car and the V5C. Some buyers will still run their own check, and that's fine.

Does the report include auction photos?

Not at the moment. No licensed auction supplier is connected yet, so reports don't include auction records or photos.

Sources

Fetched 3 November 2026.

• GOV.UK, Check a used vehicle you're buying
• GOV.UK services: DVLA's vehicle information, MOT history