Honest CarVertical review for UK buyers. At £33.99 per report it's the most expensive option — yet UK-registered cars get no more data than a £4.99 check. Here's when it's actually worth it.
| Feature | CarVertical (£33.99) | CarCostCheck Premium (£4.99) | CarCostCheck Free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stolen check | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Finance check | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Write-off check | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| European import history | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Auction/listing photos | Patchy | ✗ | ✗ |
| Full MOT history analysis | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| MOT advisories explained | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Repair cost estimates | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reliability score | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Running cost breakdown | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Common faults | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| DVSA recall check | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Insurance group | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Price | £33.99 | £4.99 | Free |
Full MOT history, mileage check, health score, running costs. No signup needed.
Short answer: For UK-registered cars, CarVertical is the most expensive option on the market at £33.99 for a single report (£54 for a three-pack). Its one genuine advantage is cross-border European vehicle history, which matters if you are buying an import. For the vast majority of UK used car purchases, you can get the same data and more from CarCostCheck for £4.99. That is an 85% saving with no loss of UK data coverage.
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CarVertical markets itself as a "vehicle history report" platform with a focus on transparency. For a UK car, the report includes:
The European history feature is genuinely useful if you are considering a car that was originally registered abroad. A car imported from Germany, for example, might have a German TUV (MOT equivalent) history and service records that UK databases would not show. If the car has only ever been UK-registered, this feature adds nothing.
What CarVertical does not include for any car: MOT history analysis with advisory explanations, running cost breakdowns, reliability scoring, common fault detection, DVSA recall data, or insurance group estimation. These are all things that affect your ownership costs and buying decision, and they are all missing from a £33.99 report.
Enter any reg below for a free MOT history, mileage check, and running costs. Takes 5 seconds, no signup.
Data from DVSA and DVLA. Used by thousands of UK car buyers.
CarVertical's Trustpilot presence is mixed. While it fares better than HPI, recurring complaints include reports being thin on data for UK-only cars, difficulty obtaining refunds for reports that contained little useful information, and aggressive email marketing after purchase.
Several reviewers note that the "damage records" section was empty for their UK car, which is expected since those records are primarily sourced from European auction and insurance databases. If you pay £33.99 expecting comprehensive damage data on a UK car, you are likely to be disappointed.
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There is one scenario where CarVertical could be worth the money: you are looking at a car that was previously registered in another European country, and you want to see its history before it arrived in the UK. Grey imports, ex-European fleet cars, and vehicles brought over from Ireland, Germany, or France could benefit from CarVertical's cross-border data.
Even in that scenario, consider running a CarCostCheck first. The free report will show you the car's UK MOT history, mileage pattern, reliability score, and running costs. If everything looks clean and you still want European history confirmation, then a CarVertical report is a reasonable additional spend. But paying £33.99 as your first and only check is poor value when £4.99 gives you more UK-specific data.
CarVertical has carved out a niche with European vehicle history, and if you are specifically buying a European import, that data can be valuable. For the other 95% of UK used car transactions involving standard UK-registered vehicles, it is the most expensive and least comprehensive option available. You pay nearly seven times more than CarCostCheck and receive less useful data for a UK purchase. The European history feature is a solution to a problem that most UK buyers do not have.
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:
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.
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
This is what you'll see. Try it with YOUR car:
12 free checks included. Premium history from £4.99. Valuation from £2.99.