You may be aware that in the UK there are now several companies that can provide various details on second hand cars if you provide them with the car registration. Car registration checks are designed to help car buyers avoid getting ripped off when buying a used car.
As well as being several different companies that provide this service there is also two different types of check. The full online car data check and the text registration check, a text check will be cheaper than the more comprehensive checks that can be performed online. There is however no such thing as a free car registration check, the information that goes into providing the data for a car history report costs money to produce and so would not be given away for free.
The first thing you need to know about any check that you do to find out about the history of a car is that the data is protected by the data protection act. This means that no private data will be given out, this means that the names and addresses of the current and previous owners of the car will not be provided as part of this check. If you are buying a used car the V5 documentation should contain this information.
You will however be given a background check on the car that you have requested based on the car registration. You will find out if the details of the registration match the description of the car such as the cars colour.
If the car has been involved in an accident and then written off by the insurers then this will show up on the report. Many write offs including cut and shuts find there way back into the second hand car market and even onto the car dealers forecourts.
You will know if the car has been reported stolen to the police, believe it or not some people end up buying cars that have been stolen. Often fake ownership documents are used, the only way you will know is by doing a history check.
A car registration check will also show you whether or not a car has any outstanding finance on it. Many cars are sold on even though the current owner is still paying finance on the car. A check will show up any finance owing and you can avoid being ripped off.