| Free check | Full check, £9.99 coming soon | |
|---|---|---|
| MOT history and advisories | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mileage timeline with drops flagged | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tax and MOT status | ✓ | ✓ |
| EV battery health and range guidance | ✓ | ✓ |
| Outstanding finance | – | ✓ |
| Insurance write-off (Cat A, B, S, N) | – | ✓ |
| Stolen (Police National Computer) | – | ✓ |
| Scrapped or exported | – | ✓ |
| Previous keepers, plate and colour changes | – | ✓ |
Write-off categories
- Category AScrap only. It should never be back on the road.
- Category BThe body must be crushed. Parts can be salvaged.
- Category SStructural damage, repaired and back on the road.
- Category NNon-structural damage, repaired and back on the road.
Write-offs and electric cars
Insurers write off EVs more readily than petrol cars, because a damaged high-voltage battery is expensive to assess and replace. So a Cat N EV may have had fairly minor damage that the insurer decided wasn't worth investigating.
If an EV shows a write-off, ask for the repair invoices and whether the battery was inspected afterwards, and get a battery health test before you buy.
What our write-off check shows
The category, the date of the loss and the type of loss, from the insurers' shared register (MIAFTR). The same report covers finance, stolen, scrapped and exported records.
Questions
Is a Cat S or Cat N car safe to buy?
It can be, if it was repaired properly. Ask for the repair invoices, expect to pay less than for a clean car, and tell your insurer. On an EV, get the battery tested.
Does a write-off show on the V5C?
You can't rely on it. The most reliable record is the insurers' write-off register, which is what our full check uses.
How much is a write-off check?
£9.99 for the full history check, which includes write-off, finance and stolen checks.
More checks before you buy
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