Who Runs This Site
Used Car Checker is built and run by Mark Bolton, working independently in the United Kingdom. It is a one-person project, not a company with a content team — the tool, the scoring model and every guide on the site are my own work.
You can reach me directly at hello@usedcarchecker.co.uk. If something on the site is wrong, that address reaches the person who can actually fix it.
The site is deliberately independent: it is not run by, affiliated with or endorsed by the DVSA, the DVLA, any government department, or any dealership, insurer, manufacturer or finance provider. Nobody pays me to rate a car a particular way, and I take no referral commission on vehicle sales. That independence is the reason the analysis is free to say uncomfortable things about a car.
The site exists because reading MOT history properly is harder than it should be. The official record is complete and free, but it presents fourteen years of tests as a flat list in which a blown bulb and a rotten subframe carry the same label. Working out whether a car is actually sound means holding several threads at once — how often it failed, how serious those failures were, whether it is getting better or worse, and whether the mileage story hangs together. I built the tool to do that arithmetic consistently, so that two cars can be compared on the same basis.
How the Site Makes Money
The site is funded by advertising, and that is the only way it earns anything. I do not sell your data, I do not sell leads to dealers, and I have no commercial relationship with any seller whose vehicle you might look up.
This matters for a specific reason: a site that earns commission on car sales has an incentive to make cars look good. I do not have that incentive, which is why the tool will happily tell you a vehicle has a poor record and suggest you walk away. Where I mention paid services such as full provenance checks, I describe what they cover and let you decide — I am not reselling them.
What the Site Does
It is a free vehicle checking service. In full, it provides:
- Full MOT History: View every MOT test result for any UK vehicle, including all advisories, minor defects, major failures and dangerous items.
- Reliability Scoring: My own scoring algorithm analyses pass rates, defect severity, mileage consistency and test history to give each vehicle a clear reliability percentage.
- Vehicle Comparison: Compare up to 5 vehicles side by side to see which has the best MOT record, fewest defects and most consistent mileage.
- Timing Chain/Cambelt Information: An indication of whether a vehicle is likely to have a timing chain or cambelt and what to look out for.
- Recall Alerts: Cross-reference against known UK vehicle recalls so you know if a model has been affected by a safety recall.
- Vehicle Verdict: An automated summary of good points and concerns to help you make a quick, informed decision.
Where Does the Data Come From?
All vehicle data comes from official UK government sources:
- DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency): Provides MOT test history, including test results, defects and recorded mileage at each test.
- DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency): Provides vehicle details including make, model, colour, engine size, fuel type, MOT status and tax status.
The government publishes this data, and I am grateful for it. What I build on top of it is my own: the reliability scoring model, the classification of defects into routine consumables and serious faults, the odometer unit-switch detection that prevents false clocking alerts, the side-by-side comparison logic, and every word of the guides on this site.
I never alter the underlying government record. Where my interpretation of a vehicle differs from the raw data, both are shown together so you can judge for yourself. If you want to see exactly how the analysis is performed, I publish the full scoring methodology, including the parts I think are most open to disagreement.
For the raw record with no interpretation at all, the official service at GOV.UK is free and always will be. I would rather tell you that plainly than pretend otherwise.
Why I Built It
The aim is simple: to help UK car buyers make a smarter, safer purchase. Buying a used car is one of the biggest purchases most people make, and having the right information can save you from costly mistakes. Whether you're a first-time buyer or a seasoned motorist, the tools are designed to give you confidence in your decision.
Why Free?
I believe access to vehicle safety data should not be locked behind a paywall. The underlying data is publicly available from government agencies, and everyone should be able to check a vehicle's history before buying it. The site is supported by advertising, which is what keeps it free for everyone.
Disclaimer — Please Read This
This site is an information tool, not a guarantee, and it is offered without any warranty. The vehicle data comes from third-party government systems that I do not control and cannot independently verify. It may be incomplete, out of date or simply wrong.
The reliability score, verdicts and defect classifications are my own automated interpretation of limited data. They are opinions, not statements of fact about any vehicle. A high score or the absence of a warning is not evidence that a car is sound, roadworthy, legally owned or free of finance.
Nothing here is professional, legal or mechanical advice. Do not use this site as the sole basis for buying, selling, insuring or driving a vehicle. Always inspect a car in person and get independent professional checks first.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, I accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from errors or omissions in the information shown, or from any decision taken in reliance on it. Use of this site is entirely at your own risk. The full position is set out in the Terms of Use. Where the official record and this site differ, the official record is the one to trust.
How I Write the Guides
The written guides on this site are researched and written specifically for it. I do not syndicate articles, spin existing content, or publish sponsored posts dressed up as advice. These are the standards I hold myself to:
- I check against primary sources. Rules on VED bands, MOT requirements, write-off categories and registration formats come from government guidance, not from other blogs.
- I avoid quoting figures that expire. Tax rates and test fees change, often annually. Rather than publish numbers that quietly become wrong, I explain how a system works and point to GOV.UK for the current amount.
- I say when something is a judgement. Where I have made an editorial choice — such as treating a tyre failure as routine rather than serious — I say so and explain the reasoning, so you can disagree with it.
- I do not give legal or financial advice. Where a topic touches consumer law or finance agreements, I describe the general position and recommend you take advice on your own circumstances.
- I correct things. If I get something wrong, tell me and I will fix it.
What This Site Cannot Do
I would rather set expectations honestly than oversell. There are real limits to what free MOT data can tell you:
- It cannot see outstanding finance, stolen markers or insurance write-off history. Those require a paid provenance check, and the guides say when one is worth buying.
- It only sees the car on MOT day. Servicing, clutches, gearboxes and electrical faults never appear in MOT records.
- It cannot tell a proper repair from a bodge. A pass following a serious failure looks the same either way.
- It is not a substitute for inspecting the car. Nothing online replaces looking at a vehicle, driving it, and checking the paperwork matches the seller.
The reliability score has its own documented limitations, which I set out in full on the methodology page rather than burying them.
Accuracy and Corrections
Vehicle data is retrieved live from government APIs each time you run a check, so it is as current as the official record. If the DVSA or DVLA record itself is wrong, I cannot change it — that has to be corrected at source, after which the results update on the next lookup.
If you spot an error in the analysis, the guides, or the way a specific vehicle is scored, please tell me. Include the registration where relevant. I read everything and I do fix things.
Contact Us
Have a question, suggestion or found a bug? I'd like to hear from you. Visit the contact page to get in touch, or email hello@usedcarchecker.co.uk directly. I aim to reply within two business days.