Before you go and see any used car — from us or from anyone else — it is worth spending five minutes on its MOT history. It is free, it only needs the registration number, and it can tell you a lot about how a car has been looked after.
Where to find it
Search for "Check MOT history" on GOV.UK and use the official government service. Type in the car's registration number and you will see its MOT test results, including the date of each test, whether it passed or failed, and the mileage recorded at the time. You do not need the owner's permission or any log-in, and there is nothing to pay.
Check the mileage makes sense
Each MOT records the odometer reading, so you can see how the miles have built up over the years. You are looking for a steady, sensible pattern. A reading that goes down from one test to the next, or a sudden unexplained jump, is worth asking about before you go any further.
Read the advisories, not just the pass or fail
Advisories are items the tester noticed that were not bad enough to fail, such as tyres getting close to the limit, light corrosion or a slight oil leak. One or two are normal on any used car. The same advisory appearing year after year can tell you something was noted but not dealt with, so ask whether it has since been fixed.
Look for gaps
In Great Britain a car normally needs its first MOT three years after it was first registered, then one every year. If there is a year missing from the history, it may simply have been off the road — but it is a fair question to ask the seller.
Look at what it failed on, and how quickly it passed
A fail followed by a pass a few days later usually means the faults were repaired straight away. Take note of what the fail items were: brakes, suspension and corrosion on structural parts are more significant than a blown bulb or a worn wiper blade.
What the MOT history cannot tell you
An MOT is a check of roadworthiness on the day of the test. It is not a service and it does not look at the condition of the engine, clutch or gearbox in any depth. That is why it is worth reading the MOT history alongside the service history, and taking a proper look at the car and a test drive before you buy.
It also will not tell you whether the car has outstanding finance, has been written off or has been reported stolen. For that you need a vehicle history check such as HPI. Ask us about the history checks on any car on our forecourt — we are happy to go through them with you.
In short
- It's free on GOV.UK and only needs the registration.
- The mileage should rise steadily from test to test.
- Repeated advisories are worth asking about.
- A missing year deserves a question, not panic.
- Pair it with an HPI check and the service history.
If you're interested in one of our cars, give us the registration and we'll talk you through its history — or check it yourself before you visit.
