Used Car Buying Guides
Free, plain-English guides for buying a used car in the UK: how to read an MOT history, spot clocked mileage, check for outstanding finance and write-offs, avoid deposit scams, and work out running costs such as road tax. Each guide is written by the CarVouch team and links to the free checks you can run on a registration.
Before You View: Practical V5C Online Checks for UK Buyers
Checking a V5C online is one of the fastest ways to spot registration red flags before you travel to view a used car. This guide explains what a V5C shows, how to verify details online, and the practical steps to take after a check.
V5C Logbook Checklist: Verify a Used Car Before Viewing
A clear, practical checklist so UK buyers can read and verify a V5C logbook before travelling to view a used car. Learn what the V5C records, common red flags, and how to cross-check details using official data.
AI Used Car Check UK: Pre-Viewing Risk Analysis with CarVouch
An AI used car check in the UK helps you decide whether a vehicle is worth viewing by scanning MOT history, mileage consistency vs MOT readings, and advert red flags. CarVouch offers a free instant scan and optional paid AI report to flag risks before you travel.
HPI check vs CarVouch
Deciding whether to view a used car starts with the right pre-screening tools. This guide explains what a commercial full vehicle history check covers versus CarVouch’s AI-assisted pre-viewing scan and shows the safe, practical workflow UK buyers should follow. Try for Free to run an instant scan before you travel.
Volvo Used Car MOT Check & Mileage Insights
A thorough Volvo used car MOT check helps you spot mileage inconsistencies, recurring defects and safety risks before you travel to view. Use CarVouch’s free DVSA MOT scan and AI advert analysis to prioritise viewings and decide whether to spend on a full vehicle history check.
Best Used Car Brands UK: How to Choose a Reliable Used Car
What makes a brand good to buy used, which brands are often regarded as dependable, and how to check the individual car.
AI Used Car Check UK: What AI Can and Can't Tell You About a Car
What CarVouch's AI car check analyses, how the risk score and verdict work, what the full AI report includes, and what AI can't tell you.
Used Car Pre-Viewing Tool UK: Check a Car Before You Travel to See It
How a pre-viewing tool checks a used car from its registration and advert before you travel, and how to use the results.
CarVouch Pricing UK: What Is Free and What a Full Vehicle Check Costs
What is free on CarVouch, what a Full Vehicle Check costs, how the credit packs work, and what each check includes.
Used Car Red Flags UK: Warning Signs Before You Buy
Warning signs in the advert, the MOT and mileage history, the paperwork, the viewing and the payment, and what to do about each one.
used car MOT history: How to Read Records & Avoid Bad Buys
MOT history is one of the most useful free datasets for UK used car buyers — when you know how to read it. This guide shows where MOT records come from, what they reveal (and what they don’t), and how to use MOT history to shortlist cars worth a viewing.
MOT History Check and Advert Analysis: How to Spot Risks Before Viewing
Combining an MOT history check and advert analysis helps UK buyers spot mileage discrepancies, repeated failures and suspicious ad wording before they travel to view a car. Use a free instant scan to decide whether a car is worth visiting.
Where to start
Buying a used car usually goes in the same order: check the advert, check the history, view the car, then agree the deal. The guides below follow that order, so you can read only the part you need right now.
Before you view a car
Most problems show up in the advert and the vehicle record before you ever travel. Start with the warning signs, then run the checks that rule a car in or out.
Checking the history
A car's history decides whether it is safe to buy at all. These guides explain outstanding finance, write-off categories, stolen markers and MOT mileage records.
On the day and at the deal
Use a checklist at the viewing, decide whether you need a mechanic, and know what to confirm before money changes hands.
Costs after you buy
Running costs can change which car is the better buy. Work out road tax and fuel before you agree a price, and see what a full check costs.
Check a car while you read
The free CarVouch scan takes a UK registration and shows the MOT history, mileage record, tax and MOT status, a risk score and red flags from the advert. When you are serious about a car, the Full Vehicle Check adds Experian finance, stolen and write-off data. Not sure how CarVouch compares with other checks? See CarVouch vs HPI Check.