In today’s world, making sure that the car you’re about to buy has a clean motoring history is becoming more and more important. That’s why spending that extra to have an HPI check carried out is money well spent.

An HPI check will tell you whether the car has been stolen, written-off or has outstanding finance in place. If the car is noted on the police national computer as stolen, then the police have the right to seize it. If it has been involved in an accident and been written-off it may be unsafe to drive. And if there’s outstanding finance on the vehicle the finance company will be the legal owners, not you. They could repossess the car, or hold you liable for the outstanding debt.

The RAC is one organisation that provides such a check, they call it their RAC Car Passport. It provides one of the most comprehensive car checks in the UK, combining the world-renown organisation’s industry know-how with advice from in-house experts.

They will provide a written report on your potential new vehicle and will find any vehicle specific alerts to be aware of, important updates to the vehicle over its lifetime, as well as a list of the most common breakdown and MOT faults recorded for this make and model.

With a clear understanding of the vehicle history, estimated running costs and an essential buying checklist, you can have everything to hand so that you can have the confidence you need when buying a used car.

Generally, an HPI check will also confirm the vehicle’s identity with the DVLA database to make sure that the make, model, transmission and engine size, door plan and current colour, as well as any previous colour, is as described. It will also say how many times it has changed hands.

Other things that will be checked is whether the number plate has been changed and whether the VRM and VIN numbers are correct and the V5 document valid. Any irregularity in these can be an indication that possibly someone is trying to hide something.

The information is compiled from records held by the police, the DVLA and other industry bodies. You can begin your own online check from the www.gov.uk/get-vehicle-information-from-dvla webpage.