Car finance check: find outstanding finance on any UK car

A car finance check shows whether a vehicle still has money owed on it under a hire purchase, conditional sale or PCP agreement. Until that debt is settled, the finance company owns the car, not the seller. Run the check on the registration before you pay, so you know the seller has the right to sell it.

What the finance check covers

If a finance agreement is recorded against the car, the report lists each one with these details:

• The type of finance, such as hire purchase or conditional sale
• The date the agreement started and its term in months
• The finance company that holds the agreement
• The agreement number, which you can quote when you contact the lender

If nothing is recorded, the report says so with a clear green result. The finance check is part of our Total Check, which also includes the stolen, write-off, MOT and valuation checks.

Where the finance data comes from

UK motor lenders register their finance agreements against the car when the loan is set up, and remove them once it is paid off. We request that finance data when you generate your report, so the result shows the agreements recorded on the day you check. Vehicle details such as make, model and colour come from the DVLA, which helps you confirm you are looking at the right car.

What to do if the check finds outstanding finance

Outstanding finance does not always mean you should walk away. Plenty of people sell a car part way through an agreement and settle it from the sale money. What matters is that the debt is cleared before the car becomes yours.

1. Ask the seller for a written settlement figure from the lender.
2. Call the finance company yourself, quote the agreement number from the report and confirm the amount.
3. Pay the lender directly, or watch the seller do it, and get written confirmation that the agreement has ended.
4. Run a fresh check before you collect the car to make sure the agreement has cleared.

If the seller refuses any of these steps, treat it as a warning sign and keep looking.

How the car finance check works

1. Enter the registration in the search box.
2. Use the free preview to confirm the make, model and colour match the car you are viewing.
3. Choose the Total Check to unlock the finance result along with the stolen and write-off checks.