HPI Check
 

As some of you are aware I recently went into business buying and selling Audis. Well, buying them anyway.... :D

As a result, I've been beavering away on all sorts of IT solutions to automate my buying process and decisions.

'HPI' checks as they are commonly referred to are provided by a number of companies now, with varying benefits but all to verify (and guarantee usually) that a car is not currently financed, stolen or written off, all of which would seriously impact its value.

Commercially, the more HPI checks I perform, the cheaper I get them, so I'm looking to open up my traders account via a portal to grant access to full, guaranteed checks via Experian, with optional valuations, mileage verifications, MOT data and Audi factory specification.

So, I'm curious as to how many folks actually perform a check on a car before they buy it ?

I did on my first S8, really to confirm what the seller had told me i.e. that it was on finance and that all needed to be settled as part of the sale.

Didn't on my more recent one, seemed pointless given its age and provenance.
Also didn't on my ex-demo dealer-supplied Volvo.

But then most of the cars I've bought over the years have been my own end-of-lease company cars (always in immaculate condition and recently serviced ;) ) so no need as they were bought directly from the leasing company.

I usually buy privately so I always prefer to check, mainly to ensure it's not stolen or written-off as I wouldn't expect much finance on a car 15+ years old, but you never know!

Mileage data can often be verified through the MOT database online nowadays so not such an issue.

When I've bought from a dealer I've always accepted at face value any HPI check performed on the vehicle as being adequate assurance, given if it turns out to be wrong you can go after the dealer in a legal sense if something comes up (and assuming the check is valid and insured, the dealer can go to HPI)

I did the full works on our 1 yr old Golf GTI as it was a private sale, especially as the order form supplied by the seller quite clearly showed finance but also included a letter from VWFS confirming it was paid off and declaring no further interest. Seemed silly not to when spending £20k+

Probably worth checking your own liability/cover for the person asking for the check? I seem to recall there's small print involved that might mean a third party doesn't benefit from the insurance of doing the check? Lots of additional details required by HPI to validate the warranty - document reference number and VIN from memory?

As you know, I think the valuation service is useful, although sometimes having CAP and Glass's makes for interesting comparisons. Neil who had the aqua FE a couple of years back had an account that gave both valuations but don't know the source

All valid points Adrian....

The service is designed for resale to third parties, to include the guarantee etc.

The actual requirements for the guarantee aren't as strict as some I'm seen, but if for example you don't provide the VIN, they can't guarantee that its not a ringer presumably, just that that VRM didn't come up as stolen, written off.

Valuations can be glasses, cap, and/or cap black book plus. At first I found the differences interesting, but then found that I was ultimately confused when two or three valuations come through at quite different values, adjusted for mileage, but having no bearing on spec - which we know can be a big factor, so I settled on just one, which is cheaper anyway.

I realised after trying to help you that I'd tied the process up very tightly only to what I immediately required, making it very hard to access other services that were available, but I had chosen not to use in the mainstream.

So, I spent most of this week rewriting my information service, and turning me into my own client who accesses a subset of the data, where the rest can be accessed element by element externally. Sounds complicated, but its great foundation for what I'm trying to do..... +++

If I buy a high value car, yes. If i buy a low value car (track, resto, etc) I don't

I only buy cheap cars so have never checked it, if it was more expensive then probably would check.

Wife's car came with HPI report and I took that at face value. Checked it afterwards and it was accurate.

I have a friend in the trade who can get them for free so I normally get them checked.

How much is a HPI these days? Retail (single) and Trade?

Its not a habit. A lot of the stuff I buy is spares or repairs so when the engine is full of shrapnel the car's history is pretty irrelevant! It might have been prudent to check the S8s, but it didn't even cross my mind tbh.

It would be useful to have documentation for the FE when it comes to sale time though, since it might provide peace of mind for any prospective buyer. Its had a couple done in the past as its had a few plate changes so an up to date one wouldn't hurt.

We did check Lucy's TT before buying that, since its a prime candidate for being stolen or accident damaged at some point and I'd spotted a wing had been painted so we wanted to make sure it was nothing major.

It may be a service I'd use occasionally when buying or selling something valuable :)

I checked the seller of the '8 that I bought pretty carefully, and I still managed to pay him twice :ROFL: