Ask Honest John

Honest John Ask Honest John » How can I check the history of a used estate car from a dealer with no premises?
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

How can I check the history of a used estate car from a dealer with no premises?

For my dog walking business, I'm going to ring up and hopefully see a 2003 Ford Focus 1.8 TDi CL 5dr diesel estate 89,000 miles, tomorrow. 12 months MOT, no mention of tax so assume there isn't any. He's asking £1295 which seems reasonable if it's a genuine car. He's a trade seller but doesn't appear to have premises. What's the most economical way for me to check for stolen/HPi/insurance write-off/mileage? I could ask for MOT number to check old MOTs on-line for mileage on VOSA website. If I did buy is it safe to give cash if he doesn't have premises, and is there anything I should be wary of?

Asked on 23 February 2011 by SS, via email

Answered by Honest John
There is no economical way to do an HPI check. The only guaranteed check is www.hpicheck.co.uk. Get a cheap check and it's not guaranteed, so it's worthless. Mileage checks are not certain anyway because they go from MoT records so don’t record the fact that the car has been running unhooked for 30,000 miles between each MoT. A trader seller with no premises is the worst sort of dealer because you have no comeback. If you only did what I originally recommended you to do and went to a police sale at West Oxfordshire Motor Auctions you'd have an ex-police dog van by now, ideally kitted out for your business. www.woma.co.uk

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide
Similar questions
My wife runs an R-reg Renault Megane for twice-daily short journeys, taking our three Labradors to an area of sand dunes where they walk. The "car park" is unmade and is very uneven, mostly worn grass...
I need a reliable car to travel from Southampton to Bournemouth four times a week as well as a 20 minute drive to work each day. I have a 2004 automatic Ford Focus now, which costs a fortune in petrol...
Dear John, my friend, who doesn't have a computer, is a professional dog walker and business is good. He wonders if it's possible to buy, at auction or otherwise, an ex-police dog patrol van or similar,...