In short
A basic check costs 1 basic credit and shows the full DVSA MOT history. An advanced check costs 1 basic and 1 advanced credit. It shows the MOT history plus outstanding finance, theft, write-offs, keepers, plate changes and more. The advanced data comes entirely from Experian.
The basic check#
This is what Dabers ANPR has always done. Right-click a car photo, the plate is read from the image, and the MOT history opens on the page. Every test, every advisory, every failure and the mileage at each one.
For most cars that's enough to decide whether to bother. Mileage that goes backwards, the same corrosion advisory three years running, or a failure list as long as your arm will tell you plenty before you spend a penny more.
It costs 1 basic credit. You get 30 free every month, and after that they start at 2.5p each. Looking up the same image again is free.
The advanced check#
The MOT history can't tell you whether a car has finance on it, whether it's been stolen or whether an insurer wrote it off. Those are the things that cost you the car, not just a repair bill. That's what the advanced check is for.
Type the registration into the "Advanced Check" box in the extension popup. The result opens on the page, with the MOT history underneath. At the top you get a row of flags, so the bad news is the first thing you see:
- Finance: outstanding agreements, the type and who holds them
- Stolen: whether the car is recorded as stolen
- Write-off: insurance write-offs and damage records
- Scrapped, exported, imported
- Plate changes and colour changes
- High risk: any high risk markers Experian holds, with every detail they send
Below the flags are the full sections, including keepers and V5C issues, identity checks, vehicle details and how many times the car has been searched before. Lots of recent searches on a car that's "just come in" is worth asking about.
What it costs#
One advanced check uses 1 advanced credit and 1 basic credit. The basic credit pays for the MOT history that comes with it.
Advanced credits can be bought one at a time:
| Advanced credits | Price each |
|---|---|
| 1 to 49 | £2.75 |
| 50 to 99 | £2.50 |
| 100 or more | £2.25 |
Free credits only cover basic checks. The advanced check box shows up in the popup once you have at least one of each credit.
Which one should I use?#
Run the basic check on everything. It's cheap, and it rules most cars out on its own.
Run the advanced check on the cars you're serious about, before money changes hands. A few pounds is nothing next to buying a car with finance still on it.
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