What does "HPI clear" mean on a used car?

What does "HPI clear" actually mean?

"HPI clear" means a used car has come back clean on a private history check against the records a buyer cannot see for themselves. HPI is a brand name, and other companies run the same sort of check, so a seller may call it a history check, a provenance check or a data check instead. What matters is not the brand on the certificate but which records were searched, on what date, and against which registration and vehicle identification number. A check run three months ago on a car that has changed hands since then tells you less than it looks like it does.

What does a history check look for?

A history check looks for things that follow the car rather than the seller. In broad terms that means whether the car has been recorded as stolen, whether an insurer has written it off and in which category, whether money is still owed against it by someone else, whether the registration or colour has been changed, and whether the mileages on record line up. Any one of those can turn a good-looking car into one you should walk away from.

Why does money still owed on a car matter to me?

Because the debt can be secured on the car, not on the person who sold it, so it can follow the car to you. This is why a straight dealer settles anything outstanding on a part-exchange as part of the deal rather than leaving it to the buyer to discover. At ONECARS the order form sets out three figures before anything is signed: the allowance for the car you are handing over, the settlement still owed on it, and the difference between them.

What does an HPI check not tell you?

A history check says nothing at all about the condition of the car in front of you. It cannot hear a worn wheel bearing, see a weeping head gasket or tell you that the clutch is on its last legs. It is a records check, not an inspection. Plenty of cars are clear on every database and still need money spending on them, which is why a clear check is the start of your homework and not the end of it.

How do I check a car's MOT history and mileage myself?

Anyone can check a vehicle's MOT history free on GOV.UK using the registration number, and it is the single most useful ten minutes you will spend on a used car. You get every test result, the advisories and failures, and the mileage recorded at each test. Read the mileages in order: they should climb steadily. A year with almost no miles, or a reading lower than the one before it, is something to ask about before you go any further. Our guide to checking a used car's MOT history walks through it screen by screen, and how to tell if a used car's mileage is genuine covers what the numbers can and cannot prove.

What paperwork should back the check up?

The V5C log book should be there and the details on it should match the car. When a car changes hands the seller tells the DVLA and the new keeper is sent a new V5C in the post, so a car with no log book and a story attached deserves a hard look. What paperwork should come with a used car lists the rest of it.

What should I ask the seller?

Ask these, and ask them before you talk about money:

• Has the car had a history check, when was it run, and may I see it?
• Does the registration on the certificate match the V5C and the plates on the car?
• Is there anything outstanding against the car, and who is settling it?
• Has it ever been written off and repaired, and in which category?
• Can I take the registration away and run my own check?

A seller with nothing to hide will hand you the registration without a flicker. One who talks you out of checking has told you something useful.

What does ONECARS do before a car goes on sale?

Every ONECARS car is checked on 34 points by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site at Plas Acton in Wrexham, and the list of points is published at how we check our cars. Anything that needs doing is done by ONEFIX before the car is handed over, and a car with work outstanding from its check is not handed over at all until it has been put right — that is a rule in our system rather than a promise over the phone. Every car page carries the car's photographs, its full spec and, where the car is old enough to have been tested, its MOT history from the DVSA test by test with the mileage recorded at each one. The 2010 Volkswagen Polo at £2,995 is a fair example: the test history is on the page, so you can read the mileages in order before you pick up the phone.

Does a clear check mean I have no rights if something is wrong?

No. Buying from a dealer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires the goods to be of satisfactory quality, and under section 31 a trader cannot exclude or restrict liability for satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose or being as described — so "sold as seen" does not remove those rights from a consumer buying from a dealer. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, unfair commercial practices, including misleading omissions, are prohibited. This is general information rather than advice; if you want the detail, read what "sold as seen" means from a dealer.

What to do next

Run the free MOT check yourself, read the log book, ask who is settling anything outstanding, and then go and look at the car properly — what to check when you view a used car is the next question most buyers have. If you would rather start from cars that have already been through the workshop, our used cars are all checked before they go up, and you can get in touch with the registration of anything you want the history on.