HPI Check

[Adrian E]

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

[IT]

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.....

[1781cc]

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

[ainarssems]

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

[homer simpson]

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?

[MikkiJayne]

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

[tintin]

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

[steamship]

Never bothered when buying the A8 or the A4 before that. They were both 2001 so didn't see the point. Part of the check wouldn't work for us in Northern Ireland, as the full MOT history isn't available.

[RICKY D]

I "always" check mine out of habit now..... I normally have a multi check (5 car check) through the AA for £20 so they're not very expensive.

I've put quotation marks on always as the exceptions over the past few years have been on cars provided by my mechanic which are usually very cheap and just to keep me on the road between cars.

[tonupkid]

Buying private, I check
Buying independent dealer, if no HPI provided, I check
Buying Franchised agent, I don't check
Buying cheap stuff, I don't check

Insufficient options in that survey

When I was buying and selling a lot, I stuck with CAP Black Book. Classes and CAP did things differently to each other, and I found it easier to stick to one and understand how to read what it was saying against what I was looking at