Is £4.99 Enough? Here is the Data Comparison
| Provider | Price | Stolen | Finance | Write-off | MOT Analysis | Running Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CarVertical | £33.99 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| HPI | £19.99 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AA | £9.99 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| RAC | £9.99 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| CarCostCheck | £4.99 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Buying Advice
Car Check Before Paying a Deposit UK 2026: The 60-Second Safeguard
You're about to hand over a deposit. One £4.99 check reveals if the car is stolen, on finance, or a write-off. Here's exactly what to look for before any money changes hands.
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Full MOT history, mileage check, health score, running costs. No signup needed.
Short answer: Never pay a deposit on a used car without running a history check first. For £4.99, CarCostCheck reveals within 60 seconds whether the car is stolen, has outstanding finance, or has been written off. That is the same data HPI sells for £19.99 and CarVertical sells for £33.99. Skip this step and you could lose not just the deposit, but the entire purchase price if the finance company or police reclaim the car.
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Why a Deposit Changes Everything
Once money has changed hands, your negotiating position weakens dramatically. Private sellers can disappear, dealers can delay refunds, and if the car turns out to have a legal problem, you may be chasing the money through small claims court for months.
Worse, if the car has outstanding finance you did not know about, the finance company is the legal owner. They can repossess the car from your driveway, and you lose every penny you paid. The same applies to stolen vehicles, which the police will seize and return to the insurer.
A £4.99 check closes that risk entirely. Run it before the deposit leaves your account.
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Data from DVSA and DVLA. Used by thousands of UK car buyers.
What to Check Before You Pay
The three critical risks that a deposit cannot undo:
- Outstanding finance. Around 1 in 4 UK cars on the road has active finance against it. If the seller has not paid it off, the finance company still owns the car. Paying the seller does not transfer legal title.
- Stolen status. Cars reported stolen on the Police National Computer will be seized on sight. Your money is gone and you have no legal recourse against the seller if they cannot be found.
- Write-off category. Cat A and Cat B vehicles are legally prohibited from the road. Cat S and Cat N can be driven but their insurance, resale value and safety record are all compromised. Sellers often fail to disclose this.
All three appear in a single CarCostCheck report for £4.99.
The 60-Second Deposit Safeguard
- Get the reg plate. Ask the seller, or read it off the car itself during viewing.
- Enter it at CarCostCheck. The free report shows MOT history, mileage verification, reliability score, and running costs.
- Add the premium check for £4.99. This unlocks stolen, finance, and write-off data. If anything flags, walk away before the deposit.
- If everything is clean, pay with confidence. You have documented proof of due diligence, which also protects you in any future dispute.
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Every service above uses Experian's UK vehicle database as the source for stolen, finance and write-off data. The data itself is identical. What differs is price and what extras are bundled. At £4.99, CarCostCheck costs four times less than HPI and nearly seven times less than CarVertical, while including MOT history and running costs neither offers.
What the Free Check Tells You Before You Pay Even £4.99
CarCostCheck's free tier already surfaces several deposit-killers at zero cost:
- Mileage jumps in MOT history. If the odometer went backwards between MOT tests, the car has been clocked.
- Repeated major advisories. The same brake disc or bush advisory appearing test after test means deferred maintenance you will inherit.
- Failed MOT patterns. Frequent structural or emissions failures flag a money pit.
- High-risk common faults. Known issues for that make and model, from real UK MOT data.
If anything on the free report raises concerns, you can walk away before spending even £4.99, let alone a deposit.
When to Push for a Price Reduction Instead
Not every red flag means walking away. Some are negotiation leverage:
- Cat N write-off (cosmetic damage repaired) can justify a 15-25% price reduction versus a clean equivalent.
- High annual running costs due to high insurance group or poor fuel economy can justify a 5-10% reduction.
- Expensive upcoming repairs flagged by MOT advisories can be quoted against the asking price.
Running the check before the deposit gives you the data to negotiate. After the deposit, you have already committed.
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12 checks included free. Premium stolen, finance, and write-off checks for just £4.99. Market valuation from £2.99.
Related Reading
Explore Car Data by Make
Check Any Car's Costs Instantly
Enter any reg plate for a free MOT history, mileage check, health score, and running costs. No signup needed.
Used by thousands of UK car buyers. Data from DVSA and DVLA.
Example report preview
2019 Ford Fiesta
1.0 EcoBoost, Petrol, Manual
82
Grade A
£2,450
per year
Pass
MOT status
42k
Mileage
Fuel£1,180Tax£165Insurance£680Repairs£425
This is what you'll see. Try it with YOUR car:
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