If you seek a free HPI Check, understand that HPI (Hire Purchase Investigation) Ltd. does not offer free car checks. They charge a hefty £19.99 for a single car history check, the most expensive in the industry. However, you should not be upset because you can get the cheapest HPI check for nearly half the price in the UK.
Most people believe that an HPI check is the only genuine vehicle check in the UK, while the reality is totally opposite. To clear your doubts, we will first explain the HPI and its history.
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What is an HPI Check?
A company in the UK called HPI(Hire Purchase Investigation) is the first to provide a vehicle history check service to used car buyers. They started with an outstanding finance check service that now covers insurance written off, mileage discrepancy, stolen vehicle checks, and more.
Hence, an HPI check costs around £19.99 to check a vehicle’s history.
Fast-forward to today, and we have dozens of alternatives available in the UK: both free and paid options. We call them car history checks, which are 100% accurate and genuine and even better than the HPI check in terms of price.
What exactly does HPI clear mean?
Many sellers will mention that a car is HPI Clear. What does it mean? Is it important to consider this when buying a vehicle?
Yes. An HPI Clear refers to any car, van, or bike registered in the DVLA of the UK that has passed the HPI check and shows no adverse hidden history recorded against it. A vehicle with an HPI Clear stamp is sure to be a good buy.
In other words, a car with no outstanding finance, stolen or insurance written-off, and no mileage anomaly refers to an HPI clear label. This means that the car is entirely safe to buy.
But you don’t need a hefty £19.99 to check whether a car is HPI clear. The Auto Experts’ premium car history check is the best and cheapest alternative to an HPI clear check.
Can you get a free HPI check for a car?
The truth is, “There’s no such thing as a Free HPI Check.”. The HPI advises cautious use of any service providers offering free HPI checks.
Still, one of the best alternative car history providers for the free HPI check is The Auto Experts.
You will get complete information about a vehicle’s adverse history and make sure your car is HPI clear or not for just £9.99, . Below are the vehicle details you get in the paid report..
- Outstanding finance on a car
- Mileage anomaly
- Insurance written-off status
- Scrapped status or Certificate of destruction check
- Number of plates and colour changes
- Recorded as stolen in PNC
- Number of previous owners and date which first registered
- MOT history, along with advisories and failure notices
- VIN or chassis number (last 5 digits)
- Imported or Exported check
Difference between HPI and other car history checks:
As stated earlier, a car check offered by auto data firms is as genuine as an HPI check. Both these data reports have a similar scope where the price is mostly the only differentiating element. Indeed, you can get specific vehicle check services for almost half the cost of an HPI Check.
Regarding the data set we get from HPI and other providers, they are almost the same. In fact, some car data firms give you more details than what HPI offers.
Speaking of the authenticity of the reports, both HPI and other car history check offers accurate information. The reason is all vehicle history providers fetch data from almost the same sources.
Why do they do that? Well, they are the most authentic and valid sources in the UK. Here are some of these:
- DVLA: It records a vehicle’s make, model, specifications, date of registration, MOT history, and road tax status.
- MIAFTR (Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud Theft Register): It notes insurance write-offs and stolen car information.
- Experian and other linked companies: These financial firms document a vehicle’s financial information.
- The Police National Computer (PNC): It records stolen vehicles, so officers can catch the thieves whenever the patrolling system alerts them.
So, where does the difference lie? Well, the only distinguishing factor is the price (more on it later).
