Essential guides for buying a used car in the UK — MOT checks, HPI, negotiation tactics, consumer rights, and how to spot a clocked or cloned car.
Check any UK car before you buy — free.
How often 2022 Qashqai, Mini Hatch, Corsa, Puma, Sportage, Tucson, Kuga and Golf passed their first MOT in 2025, beside the national figure, with mileages.
How often 2020 Fiesta, Corsa, Golf, Focus, Mini, Qashqai, Polo and Puma passed the MOT at five years old in 2025, beside the national figure, with mileages.
How to check a used car for an outstanding safety recall with the free GOV.UK services, what the result means, what to ask the seller, and who pays.
The seller should be the registered keeper on the V5C. How to check the log book, its watermark and serial number, the DVLA record and the address first.
How often ten-year-old cars pass the MOT: 2025 pass, PRS and fail rates for eight popular 2015 models beside the national figure for cars of the same age.
What a ten-year-old car's mileage usually is: eight popular 2015 models side by side at their 2025 MOT, with the national range from millions of readings.
MOT pass rates for cars first used 2015 to 2018 by mileage band and age. At six to nine years old the lowest-mileage cars pass far more often. What to check.
When is the best time to buy a used car? What the calendar really changes: plate-change stock in March and September, the MOT due date and tax from day one.
MOT pass rates for cars first used 2010 to 2014, by mileage: about 5 in 6 low-mileage cars aged 10 to 14 passed, under 3 in 5 past 150,000 miles. What to check.
MOT pass rates by odometer band and car age, 2021-2025: about 9 in 10 low-mileage young cars pass, under 3 in 5 older cars past 90,000 miles. What to check.
What mileage is normal at 3, 5, 10 or 15 years? National figures from every MOT test 2021-2025: a typical ten-year-old shows about 75,800 miles.
How many MOT passes carry no advisory at all, for eight popular used cars at four ages, from about 2 in 3 on younger cars to 3 in 10 on the oldest.
Three-year-olds tested in 2022 and 2023 showed the lowest first-MOT mileages in five years, across eight models. What is normal now and how to check a low one.
Tread near the limit is noted on 18.1% of first tests on cars aged 10 to 14, worn discs on 10.3%. What to expect at each age and how to read a seller's list.
Median mileage at the 2025 MOT for Focus, Corsa, Golf and Qashqai from 3 to 18 years old, with quartile ranges, and a six-step mileage-fit check.
The six reports in the £5.99 Essential Pack come to £17.94 bought one at a time. Here is the full pack-versus-single comparison, and the cases where buying single reports is still the better call.
What the Current Valuation report shows: Brego values from £2.99 and UKVD values from £1.99, where the figures come from, and how to use them to negotiate.
What the £1.99 Desirability rating and £1.99 Market demand scores show, how Brego and Percayso build them from live adverts, and how to use them.
What the £5.99 Factory Build Sheet shows: the derivative and each factory option code fitted to the VIN, via OneAuto, and how to check a seller’s spec claims.
What the £1.99 Standard and £2.99 Enhanced Price Predictor show, how Marketcheck builds the figure from live adverts near you, and how to use it in an offer.
What the £2.99 Salvage Bid Predictor shows for a Cat S or Cat N car: predicted auction bid, bid range and category-adjusted retail range, and how to use them.
The £11.99 Shortlist Pack runs a Full Provenance Report on three registrations and the five Essential extras on car 1 only. What that covers, what it does not, and how to use it in the right order.
What the £1.99 Spec & Options report shows: identity, status, model data, weights, engine, Euro NCAP, performance and economy from UK Vehicle Data.
A plain guide to all ten SortedCars Car Check Packs, from the £2.99 Seller Pack to the £24.99 Premium Protected Pack. What each one contains, which situation it suits, and which three packs contain no provenance report.
V5C logbook explained for UK car buyers. What each section means, how to spot a fake, what it doesn't prove, and DVLA transfer process.
A five-minute MOT history check can save you thousands in hidden repair bills. Learn how to read MOT advisories, spot clocking, and negotiate smarter.
Most expensive used-car mistakes are made before the viewing, not at it. The order that works: check the car's paper trail first, view it second, and only talk money once you know what you're looking at. A car's MOT history is free to check and tells you how it has actually been cared for — recurring advisories, mileage that jumps or dips, and failures that were patched rather than fixed. Run the registration through our free car check before you travel; it takes seconds and has saved plenty of buyers a wasted trip.
At the viewing, match the car to its paperwork. The VIN on the windscreen and under the bonnet should match the V5C logbook, and the person selling should be the keeper named on it — at the address where you're viewing. A seller who wants to meet in a car park or lay-by is a red flag, not a convenience.
Your rights depend on who you buy from. A dealer sale is covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 — the car must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. A private sale gives you far less protection: the car need only match its description. That difference should shape how much checking you do beforehand, and the guides below go deeper on each step.
Check any UK car before you buy — free.