Previous keepers

Your AutoCheck report will tell you how many previous keepers a vehicle had and when the ownership changed.

Look out for several changes in a short period - it could mean the car had a mechanical or other problem and so was sold on quickly.

The name of the keeper is covered by Data Protection and is not released to AutoCheck by the DVLA. However the names and addresses of the last two keepers are shown on the V5C, the Vehicle Registration Certificate. You can contact those keepers to ask about the car.

Plate changes

A vehicle's registration plates can change - a previous owner may have transferred their old plate to this car for sentimental reasons. Or they might have bought a personalised plate.

AutoCheck will tell you about any plate changes.

Remember that you should also check the vehicle identification number - this is a unique identifier that never changes - it's one way to check the vehicle is the one described in the registration documents and to avoid becoming a victim of car cloning.

Registration details

It's important to compare the registered details with the actual vehicle - any discrepancy should ring alarm bells, as it could be a sign of cloning. AutoCheck will show you the following:

• Make
• Model
• Transmission (manual or automatic)
• Fuel type (petrol, diesel or gas)
• Body type (numbers of doors)
• Engine number
• Colour (and any colour changes - see below)
• Number of gears
• Engine capacity
• First registered
• Year of manufacture

Import / export history

If a vehicle is recorded as being imported or exported, we cannot provide information for the period that it was out of the country.

Therefore you should try to obtain as much information about the car's history as possible and check the vehicle documents carefully.

With exports, buy the vehicle only if there is a current V5C, dated after the date of export shown in the AutoCheck report.

C02 emissions and vehicle tax

You must tax any vehicle that's registered in the UK if it's used or kept on a public road. Untaxed vehicles can be wheel clamped or removed.

The amount of tax you pay depends on several things.

For cars first registered from March 2001, it depends on their CO2 emissions - and can vary from nothing to more than £400 depending on which emissions band the car is in. For older cars, there are two rates, depending on engine size.

AutoCheck will tell you the band for the car you're checking - you probably don't want to buy a car where the road tax each year is half the purchase price...

Buy now...check now

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