HPI Checks

[IanD]

I am thinking of getting her in doors a new car (second hand).

I have always been advised to get the car HPI checked when buying private which i have always done.

The question I have is what’s the difference between the proper HPI service or the likes of the AA for £20 and the new ones that have appeared such as my car check at around £4.

Both look to be a similar service but then they would wouldn’t they  

Cheers

Ian

[CedricTheBrave]

not had a great experience with HPI, they got a search completly wrong which caused undue stress to the seller and didn't even offer an apology after ammending their mistake which I pointed out. I wouldn't use them again.

[IanD]

Thats interesting. Not heard of that before. Thanks.

Any other experiences, good or bad.

[V8grunt]

Yep, got a check on a Renault 5 GT Turbo years back,

They said it was clear.....I traced the original owner, He said it was stolen and recovered and he had took the insurance pay out,

Still drove well,    

I got my money back from the Hpi people with an apology!

But to add..... I also bought a 5 Turbo that was 6 weeks old and a write off...The front wing had a small ding....The roof had a crease!

The guy re-shelled it and put a full security alarm,etc,

It was taken off the books by Autolign, I ran it for 12 months and put 10,000 miles on it and sold it for more than I paid for it!  

[adamnreeves]

Just about to go to the Gym so haven't read all the posts. AFAIK its the level of insurance you get if the information is proven to  be wrong or the car still on finance, etc.

[cast iron]

If your going to go to the effort of finding the info out that may prove HPI to be wrong, why not just get the info in the first place and not bother with HPI?

[Blatman]

What Cast Iron said...

But I also agree with Adam. The insurance provided by HPI against "hidden history" has to be worth 25 quid against losing several thousand if it all goes pear shaped...

[JeffC]

I wonder about some of the cheap text checks Ive seen advertised too  , sure Ive seen 3 checks for a fiver somewhere, not sure what you get for your money    

fwiw I use the trade web version of  Hpi Equifax , Ive used them since i started selling cars, and I now pay the extra premium for the insurance against it going petetong , think im currently paying circa £6 a check, interestingly the insurance part of that  is only pence though . this is trade price I'm sure the price for a man on the street will be higher though it used to be £30 with them but reckon they will have reduced that now to stay competitive  

If your going to go to the effort of finding the info out that may prove HPI to be wrong, why not just get the info in the first place and not bother with HPI?

you can check a lot of things when looking over a car but you cant see finance, and the finance company own the car so if you buy the car you can end up paying for it twice  

[IanD]

Thanks for all your replies.

Didn’t think of the compensation if they’re wrong side of things. Got to be worth £20 for that alown.

If its good enough for Jeff in the trade its good enough for me.

[blue_toaster]

I've looked at the cheap checks and as a rule they don't include the finance checks that the more expensive ones do. A relative once have a check done on a car that told him finance was outstanding, he called the finance company who then repossessed it from the seller.

I'd rather pay for the check and the finance guarantees that come with it than having it reposessed after you buy it because of someone elses' debt.