Before you pay a penny on CarCostCheck, you get:
- Full MOT history with every test, advisory, and failure since 2005
- Mileage verification with automatic clocking detection
- Reliability score (0-100) based on the car's complete history
- Annual running cost estimate (fuel, tax, insurance, repairs)
- Common faults for the exact make, model, and year
- Insurance group with estimated premiums by driver age
- DVSA recall check for outstanding safety recalls
- ULEZ compliance check for London and other cities
- Fuel cost calculator based on real-world MPG
- Predicted repair costs for current MOT advisories
- Vehicle health grade (A-F) combining all data points
- Estimated vehicle lifespan based on AI analysis
HPI charges £19.99 and includes none of these. Not one. You would need to visit the DVSA website, manually analyse the MOT data, research common faults online, and calculate running costs yourself. Or you could enter a reg plate on CarCostCheck and get everything in 30 seconds for free.
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HPI's main selling point beyond data is their guarantee: if the car turns out to be stolen or have finance that was not flagged, HPI will compensate you. On paper, this sounds valuable. In practice:
- 1.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot across hundreds of reviews
- The most common complaint is the £39/year auto-renewing subscription that funds the guarantee
- Multiple reviewers report guarantee claims being rejected on technicalities
- The guarantee only covers stolen and finance, not mechanical issues, write-off damage, or mileage fraud
- To maintain the guarantee, you must keep paying the £39/year subscription
The £15 you save by choosing CarCostCheck (£4.99) over HPI (£19.99) is arguably better "insurance" than a guarantee you may never be able to claim on. And the £39/year you save by not being auto-enrolled in a subscription is money in your pocket every year.
| What You Get | CarCostCheck | HPI | You Save |
|---|
| Basic checks (MOT, mileage, reliability, costs) | Free | Not available | N/A (HPI doesn't offer this) |
| Full history check (stolen, finance, write-off) | £4.99 | £19.99 | £15.00 (75%) |
| History check + valuation | £6.99 | £29.99+ | £23.00+ (77%) |
| Annual subscription | £0 (no subscription) | £39/year (auto-renew) | £39/year |
| Total first-year cost | £4.99-6.99 | £58.99-68.99 | £54-62 saved |
We are being honest here. There is one scenario where HPI could be worth it: if you are buying a car from someone who specifically demands an "HPI-branded" check as proof. Some dealers and private sellers still equate "HPI check" with "car history check" and may not accept a report from another provider. In that case, you are paying for the brand name, not better data.
For everyone else, CarCostCheck provides the same provenance data, more additional checks, and costs £15 less. The maths is simple.
CarCostCheck is not just a cheaper version of HPI. It is a fundamentally better product that happens to cost 75% less. Here is what you get that HPI does not offer at any price:
- Real-time market valuation from £2.99, powered by over 650,000 live UK dealer listings. See what your car is actually worth in your local area, how quickly similar cars sell, and how the price compares nationally.
- Estimated vehicle lifespan: Our AI model analyses over 100 million data points to predict how many years the car has left and the probability of it being on the road in 12 months.
- Insurance costs by age: See estimated annual premiums for drivers aged 20, 30, 40, and 50. Budget before you buy.
- Running cost breakdown: Annual fuel, road tax, MOT, predicted repairs, and total cost per month. All calculated for this specific car.
- Health score (0-100): A single number that tells you the overall condition of the vehicle based on MOT history, advisory patterns, mileage consistency, and maintenance trends.
- Common faults: Known issues for this exact make and model, drawn from real MOT failure data across thousands of vehicles.
- 12 free checks: Full MOT history, mileage verification, reliability score, running costs, fuel costs, insurance group, red flag alerts, common faults, recall check, ULEZ compliance, and more. All before you pay a penny.
The premium history check (£4.99) uses the same Experian database as HPI, AA, and RAC. You get identical stolen, finance, and write-off data. The complete bundle (history + valuation) is £6.99, still 65% cheaper than HPI's basic check.
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12 checks included free. Premium stolen, finance, and write-off checks for just £4.99. Market valuation from £2.99.
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