You're buying a used car, what's the first thing you should do? Buy fluffy dice? Tell your mates you want to race? Get a tartan rug for the back seat? All wrong I'm afraid. As important as those things are, they all come secondary in terms of importance. Check history mot is the first thing you should be doing. This is simply to determine if the car has a chequered history that could come back to haunt you.
Yes, it might look good on the surface. The guy selling it to you might be nice. It could be an extremely reasonable price but that doesn't mean you should commit to a purchase until you've done this profunctury check to find out the true history of the pile of nuts and bolt in front of you.
Fortunately, it's simple, quick and easy to do. A thorough check of the vehicle's MOT history can be done via the government site at gov.uk. All you need to get started is the vehicle's registration number. All post-2005 tests in England, Scotland and Wales are listed and new results go live as soon as the test centre posts them.
What you'll find when you check history MOT:
To check history MOT for any vehicle click the link below
A test your vehicle must pass on an annual basis if it's over three years old. The test verifies whether it's safe, roadworthy and within current emissions parameters.
Visit gov.uk with the vehicles registration details.
For a comprehensive guide to what is checked click here.
No. The check is free.
Yes. £25 when booked with a service. £65 when booked without.
