can anyone advise on the best way to check the history of a s/h vehicle,ie total miles covered,finance,etc?
its not a commercial this time and i dont have the v5 or mot cert at this time, only the reg and chassis/vin no
i have tried one or two ways online, but to be totally accurate most need the mot test no or the document ref no on the v5, or is there another way?
thanks in advance
moose
I may have been previous with the thanks!!!
You can do an HPI check which will show if a vehicle has any outstanding finance, and if it has ever been an insurance write-off etc.
You can normally only check the mileage if the vehicle comes with a full service history, and if it doesn’t have a full service history then it’s best just to walk away.
You can thank me now. 
1 owner from new and service history is there and up to date,whilst looking at the vehicle i forgot to take a pic of the v5 as i thought my father had done, the number on the top, the document ref no is the one you need or the mot test no, to be sure the miles covered are correct whilst running a check, dont mind having to pay for the right information!
the vehicle is for my father and i have put a deposit down last week, it seems right but just wanted to check as its not my money!
the seller will provide a print out hpi check and print out of test history on collection of said vehicle,
i have the vin no and reg and as the seller has gone away for 10 day’s i dont have the v5 or mot number.
I myself have bought and sold lots of trucks, trailers, vans and plant equipment over the last few years in line with my work but it’s a while since i bought a vehicle/4x4 that i dont know the general history of!
I thought someone who is better on a pc than me may be able to help?
just want to be sure cheers moose
Don’t know if it’s any use to you
I had the My Car Check app on my iPhone which came in handy to do on the spot checks before handing over my hard earned.
It also has the history check link inbuilt into the app.
Don’t know if it’s available for other phones.
Fingers crossed that it all turns out ok
you could try your local vosa testing station. they will have mileage records from each test.
i don’t know if they’ll freely give you the info, but it might be worth a try.