Vehicle check & car pricing guides
Short, step-by-step answers to the questions people ask before buying, selling or pricing a car in the UK. Every guide links straight to the tool it describes.
Free MOT & DVLA checks
Free, no signup. MOT history, tax status, mileage and DVLA details for any UK registration.
How to check a car’s MOT history for free
Check any UK car’s MOT history for free: every test since 2005, pass or fail, mileage, advisories and the current MOT expiry date. No signup, instant results.
How to check if a car is taxed
See if a car is taxed or SORN and when the tax runs out. Enter the registration into the free DVLA check for tax status, tax due date and MOT expiry in seconds.
When is my MOT due? How to check the MOT expiry date
Check when your MOT is due in seconds. Enter the registration to see the exact expiry date, the last test result and the advisories to fix before you book.
How to check a car’s mileage history and spot a clocked car
Check a car’s mileage history free from the reading at every MOT test, learn the two signs of a clocked car, and test the readings in our mileage checker.
How to find a car’s details from its registration number
Look up any UK car by number plate for free: make, year, colour, fuel, engine size, CO2, first registration date and when the V5C logbook was last issued.
How to check MOT advisories and failures
See every MOT advisory, minor, major and dangerous defect recorded on a car, free, by registration. Learn what each category means and which ones cost money.
Vehicle history checks
Stolen, finance, write-off, import/export, keepers and mileage checks from £2.50.
Looking for an HPI check? How to check a car’s history for £3.99
Searching for an HPI check? DealerPricing’s vehicle history check searches the same databases (PNC, MIAFTR, finance, DVLA) for £3.99, or £2.50 as a subscriber.
How to check if a car is stolen
Check whether a car is recorded as stolen on the Police National Computer and the insurers’ MIAFTR register using only the registration number. Seconds.
How to check if a car has outstanding finance
Find out if a car still has finance owed before you buy. A history check names the lender, agreement type and date for £3.99. Free checks cannot show finance.
How to check if a car is a write-off (Cat A, B, S or N)
Check whether a car has been written off and which category it was given. See the category, insurer and loss date by registration, and what each category means.
How to check if a car has been imported or exported
Find out if a car was imported into the UK or recorded as exported. An exported car cannot be taxed or insured here. Check both markers by registration.
How to check how many previous owners a car has had
See how many registered keepers a car has had and the date of each change, plus plate and colour changes, from a vehicle history check by registration number.
How to check if a car has been scrapped
Check whether the DVLA has recorded a car as scrapped. A scrapped car cannot legally be sold, taxed or driven. See the marker by registration number in seconds.
What is a vehicle provenance check and what does it include?
A provenance check verifies a car’s identity and past: stolen, finance, write-off, import/export, keepers, mileage and MOT. See what a £3.99 report covers.
How to check a used car before buying: the five-minute checklist
A five-minute used car check from your phone: free MOT and tax check, mileage sanity check, then a history check for finance, theft and write-offs.
Pricing & valuations for dealers
Pricing and valuation workflows built on 680,000+ live listings from 11,000+ UK dealers.
How to get a trade valuation for a car
Get a trade valuation from live market data, not a monthly guide. Search the registration for trade poor, average and clean values, retail and part-exchange.
How to value a part-exchange in under a minute
Value a part-exchange at the desk: run the registration, check MOT and keeper history, read the trade bands and the days-to-sell figure, then make your offer.
How to price a used car to sell fast
Price used stock from live comparables: see what identical cars are listed at, what they sold for, how long they took, and where your car sits in the market.
How to see what similar cars actually sold for
Asking prices are not sale prices. See what identical cars sold for in the last 90 days and how long they were listed, then price stock and bids confidently.
How to check demand and days-to-sell for a car
Before you buy stock, check how fast it sells: average days to sell, active supply, demand level and a market rating for the exact model, from live UK data.
How to work out the maximum you can pay for a car
Work back from the retail price to your maximum bid: retail minus target profit minus prep costs, with the VAT margin scheme handled. Try the calculator here.
How to check a car’s factory spec and options by registration
Confirm the exact trim, standard equipment, optional extras and packs a car left the factory with, decoded from the registration, and price the options.
How to check a car’s manufacturer service history by registration
Verify a claimed full service history against the manufacturer’s own dealer records: service dates, mileages, dealer names and service types for 22 brands.
How to compare live dealer listings near you
Compare every comparable car for sale across 11,000+ UK dealers: filter by mileage, distance, gearbox, drivetrain, doors and write-offs, then sort.
Developer API
Vehicle, market and pricing data by API.
How to look up a UK vehicle by registration with the DealerPricing API
Decode any UK registration into make, model, variant, engine and gearbox with one POST request. Get a key, test in the sandbox, then go live from £0.02 a call.
How to get vehicle valuations and market data through the API
Pull live trade and retail valuations, comparable listings and days-to-sell for any UK registration into your website, CRM or stock system with the API.
Using the dashboard
Feature-by-feature help for DealerPricing subscribers.
How to search a vehicle by registration on the dashboard
Search any UK registration on the DealerPricing dashboard to decode the exact vehicle and load matching live listings, valuations and insights in one screen.
How to search without a registration (manual search)
Use the manual search wizard to find comparable listings without a registration: make, model, mileage, year, fuel, transmission, body, drivetrain and trim.
How to run a vehicle history check from the dashboard
Run a full provenance check from the dashboard for £2.50: stolen, finance, write-off, import, export, keepers, plates and mileage, with a PDF kept six months.
How to check a vehicle’s specification on the dashboard
Open Vehicle Details and click Check Spec to see the decoded identity, standard equipment, factory options and packs with list prices for any registration.
How to use recent searches
Reopen any vehicle you have searched from the Recent searches list without using a credit, watch price movements, and keep your search allowance for new cars.
How to read DealerPricing Insights
Understand the Insights tab: market rating, active supply, recently sold, average days to sell, demand, competition and turnover for the car you searched.
How to get trade and retail valuations on the dashboard
Click Get Valuations after a VRM search to see trade poor, average and clean values, DP pricing bands, retail, part exchange and auction figures for the car.
How to check tax and MOT history on the dashboard
See tax status, MOT expiry, the last test result and the full MOT history with mileage and advisories for any searched vehicle, plus a chart exposing clocking.
How to use the retail price calculator
Work out the most you can pay for a car from its retail price, target margin and prep costs, with the VAT margin scheme, inc VAT and ex VAT handled correctly.
How to filter and sort results
Refine comparable listings by mileage, distance, doors, fuel, drivetrain, keywords and write-offs, switch between live and sold, and sort by price or days.