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Pre-application Support

What do the free vehicle checks tell me?

Zuto will complete two vehicles checks on any car you’re looking at, completely free of charge. These are:

  • A vehicle history check
  • A vehicle valuation check

As soon as you find a car you like the look of, let us know the details. We’ll then carry out the checks to find out if the car is correctly priced. Crucially this happens before you pay any money to the dealer. This is important because, if you hand over money, and then back out of the sale for any reason, the dealer has the right to keep it.

Here’s what is included the vehicle history check...

  • Full vehicle details – this is every detail about the car, including the date of registration, original colour, plate changes, import/export details, modifications and of course, the VIN number, engine number and engine specification.
  • MIAFTR checks – this is the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud & Theft Register, which allows us to search and see if the car has been stolen and to check whether there’s been any fraud associated with the car. It also checks to see if the car has been written off in the past.
  • Mileage – information on how many miles the car has done. If it’s done a lot of miles, it could provide you with an idea of what sort of problems to look for when going on that test drive. For example, you may wish to check the suspension which is only designed to last a certain number of miles when installed.
  • The number of previous owners – while this doesn’t necessarily indicate anything, lots of owners could suggest there’s an ongoing problem that has caused the vehicle to be sold on several times whereas one owner suggests the car is reliable.
  • Finance check – this determines if there is outstanding finance on the car. If there is and the previous owner stops paying the finance company, with whom they are in an arrangement, there may be rights for the finance company to repossess the car and sell it to recover costs.

The valuation check tells you how much the car is worth with the aim of stopping you paying over-the-odds and giving you the confidence to negotiate with the dealer for the best price or walk away.

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ZUTO TOP TIP

We would still recommend you get the car fully checked over by a qualified mechanic before purchasing to ensure it doesn’t cause you any problems further down the line.

Written by

Mike Barlow

Content Manager

Mike has worked at Zuto since 2018 and uses his experience within the industry to help customers understand the ins and outs of car finance.

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