▸ HPI / Provenance · UK Network
carhpi.com exists because most UK buyers do not want to pay £20 to find out whether a car has tax. The free or low-cost summary here covers the questions that matter first, and only escalates to a paid report when the data behind it actually warrants one. Run an instant HPI check on any UK car. Finance, write-off, theft, mileage and plate history in seconds.
Data sourced live from DVLA, MIAFTR, PNC and the UK lender register at lookup time.
Typical lookup completes in under one second from the UK.
Built and supported in the UK as part of the consumer side of the network.
/ Insurance shortcuts
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Personalised plate transfers are legitimate and common, but a pattern of repeated plate changes — especially around the same period as an insurance write-off — is a known indicator of provenance laundering. The check returns every recorded plate change with the date and, where DVLA records it, the registration that was held immediately before.
The number of previous keepers, the dates of each change, and the time each kept the vehicle are a useful proxy for ownership stability. A six-month gap between two short-term keepers, particularly if followed by a fresh advert at a higher price, is a familiar pattern in low-grade trade flipping. The check returns the keeper count and date sequence so you can spot it.
If the report shows nothing of concern, ask to see the V5C in person and compare the VIN on the document to the one stamped on the chassis and printed on the dash. If the report flags something, raise it directly: a Category N write-off is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but a seller who claims a car has no history when MIAFTR shows otherwise is telling you something important about the rest of the conversation.
/ Brand consolidation
carhpi.com is now part of Expert Car Check — the consolidated UK vehicle-data platform that several of these older brands have joined. The data sources are unchanged: DVLA's vehicle record, DVSA's MOT history, MIAFTR for write-offs, the Police National Computer feed for theft markers and the UK lender register for outstanding finance. The team, the underwriting partners and the support contact are the same. What's changed is that the work that was previously spread across several smaller brands now sits in one place, which keeps response times tight and the underlying registers maintained against current DVLA schemas. Bookmarks and historic links to carhpi.com continue to resolve here. If you were referred to carhpi.com by a previous report, broker or print listing, this is the right page — there is no further redirect to chase.
Visit expertcarcheck.com →/ Common questions
It confirms that at the moment of lookup no insurer, lender or police force has logged a marker against the vehicle. It does not guarantee mechanical health or undeclared cash repairs. Re-run the check on the day of collection, since records can change between viewing and handover.
Yes, for vehicles where the VIN is on record. UK registration plate is the primary lookup; VIN is a fallback for newly-imported or de-registered vehicles.
Yes. The same lookup engine covers cars, vans, motorbikes and HGVs, and the report adapts to the vehicle class — van checks include plated weights, motorcycle checks include frame and engine number verification, HGV checks include operator licence notes.
Raise it directly with the seller before any money changes hands. A Category N marker is not always a deal-breaker but a seller who denies the marker exists is telling you something separate about the rest of the transaction.
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One field. A typical lookup completes in under a second, using the same UK vehicle records relied on by trade buyers and insurers.