Vehicle Score
Enter your registration number to get a free Vehicle Score and find out if a vehicle appears to be a good buy.
Our Vehicle Score service analyses MOT history, mileage records, vehicle tax details and other data to help identify potential risks before you buy.
Buying a used car is difficult.
A vehicle may look great in photos, but hidden issues such as repeated MOT failures, unusually high mileage or expensive running costs can make it a poor purchase.
Is this a good car?
Our free Vehicle Score helps you quickly assess any vehicle using information from official sources.
Simply enter the registration number and we'll generate an easy-to-understand score based on the vehicle's history.
What’s Included?
Our free Vehicle Score includes:
- Overall Vehicle Score
- MOT History Score
- Vehicle Mileage Score
- Vehicle Tax Score
A vehicle score is a great way to compare different options when you're buying a used vehicle as you can quickly benchmark multiple vehicles without having to trawl through hundreds of data fields. Our vehicle score highlights the information that matters most to the majority of used car buyers.
How Is The Vehicle Score Calculated?
The Vehicle Score combines several important factors that can help identify risks or concerns.
These include:
- MOT pass rates
- Previous MOT failures
- Advisory notices
- Vehicle mileage discrepancies
- Estimated current mileage
- Vehicle tax costs
The score provides a quick overview of how a vehicle compares based on the information available and is a great comparison tool to use when buying a second hand car.
Understanding Your Vehicle Score
Vehicle Tax Score
Vehicles with lower running costs generally receive a higher score than vehicles with expensive annual tax bills or additional rate premiums.
As vehicle tax doesn’t transfer with the seller, you’ll still need to tax the vehicle as soon as you take ownership, so it’s more about being aware of how much this will cost you each year and avoiding a large unexpected bill.
MOT History Score
Vehicles with strong MOT pass rates and fewer advisory notices generally achieve a higher score.
Although an MOT test doesn’t cover all aspects of the vehicle, it can definitely highlight potential issues, especially when they have been flagged over multiple tests. For example, an oil leak recorded on a previous MOT test doesn’t mean you have to walk away, but you may want to request further documents and check the work has been completed to a good standard or see if you have any warranty for major work.
Mileage Score
Mileage records are analysed to identify unusual usage patterns and compare the vehicle with others of a similar age.
High mileage vehicles may score lower and we’ll also highlight any potential discrepancies in the odometer readings (like if the mileage dropped at any point).
What The Vehicle Score Doesn't Check
Our Vehicle Score is based on information available within our free vehicle report and does not include important checks such as:
- Outstanding finance
- Stolen vehicle records
- Write-off history
- Scrapped, imported or exported markers
For complete peace of mind before purchasing a vehicle, a full vehicle history check is recommended.
What Is a Good Vehicle Score?
90-100: Excellent
Vehicles with an excellent score have a strong MOT history with a good pass rate and don’t have a large amount of serious mechanical issues flagged during previous MOT tests.
In these cases, we didn’t find any serious causes for concern from vehicle data we have checked, but it’s important to note that a physical inspection of the vehicle is still very important since hidden mechanical issues won’t be identified if they weren’t recorded during any of the MOT tests recorded on the vehicles history.
Additional checks for outstanding finance, insurance write offs or stolen markers are also important since they aren’t factored into your free vehicle score. You can buy a car history check to check these and help protect yourself further when buying a used vehicle.
70-89: Good
Vehicles with a good score may have some minor issues highlighted but generally aren’t cause for concern. The vehicle might have slightly above average mileage or be a little bit more expensive to tax. These aren’t necessarily reasons to avoid the vehicle, but it’s good to be aware before buying.
50-69: Average
A large number of vehicles fall into this category as they get older since it’s completely expected to see some issues start to arise as any vehicle gets older. There could be more MOT advisories recorded or just higher mileage in general. Again, this doesn’t mean the vehicle should be avoided but it’s important to fully understand the risks when buying vehicles with higher mileage or lots of previous mechanical repairs recorded during MOTs.
Below 50: Higher Risk
There are several reasons why vehicles could fall into this category. Vehicles with serious mechanical issues highlighted during past MOTs can result in a low score and it’s important to ensure that any repairs have been repaired to a high standard. For example, issues like oil leaks could cost thousands to repair and result in a vehicle that is un-drivable.
The average mileage of a vehicle when it’s scrapped is around 130,000 miles. This doesn’t mean that every vehicle will be no good once it gets to this mileage, but very high mileage vehicles will certainly need attention and repairs more frequently in most cases.
Vehicle Score for Used Car Comparisons
When comparing several vehicles, the Vehicle Score provides a quick way to identify which vehicles deserve a closer look. Rather than reviewing hundreds of individual data points, you can use the score as a starting point before investigating any areas that score poorly.
- Vehicle A
- Score
- 89
- Strong MOT history
- Low mileage
- Low running costs
- Vehicle B
- Score
- 52
- High mileage
- Frequent MOT advisories
- Expensive vehicle tax
This makes it much easier to make basic comparisons across a range of vehicles.
You can also use our car comparison tool to get a full side-by-side comparison of all specs and figures for multiple vehicles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Vehicle Score?
Our vehicle score tool is an instant vehicle check service that provides a simple score based approach to checking a vehicle.
Using this score it’s easy to compare multiple similar vehicles and help in the decision making process when buying a used vehicle.
How is a Vehicle Score calculated?
Our vehicle score is calculated based on data we have linked to the vehicle registration. This includes MOT history, mileage records and other data held by the DVLA.
We calculate a score and identify key concerns about a vehicle, just from the number plate.
Is a high Vehicle Score good?
A high vehicle score means we haven’t been able to identify any issues with the vehicle from the data held by the DVLA and other suppliers, but it doesn’t mean you can just go right ahead and jump into a purchase.
A full history check and detailed in person inspection also form an important part of the car buying process and you should always be cautious to avoid buying a vehicle that’s going to cost you more than you expected for repairs, or even worse find out that the vehicle has been stolen or on finance and lose the vehicle altogether.
Can I check any UK registration number?
We use trusted data sources including data from the DVLA and DVSA records. This means that you can enter any UK registration to get a vehicle score, however, there may be some occasions where we aren’t able to provide a score.
Newly registered vehicles, vehicles that have recently had a plate change or errors in the DVLA records can sometimes mean that we might not have enough data to provide a report. We’ll highlight when some data is missing or if we can’t provide a report at all.
Does the Vehicle Score check finance?
No, our free vehicle score tool does not include any parts of a full, paid history check service like outstanding finance, write offs or stolen vehicles.
Checking the vehicle score is a quick way to compare vehicles but you still need to buy a full history check before purchasing to help protect yourself further.
Can a Vehicle Score tell me if a car is reliable?
A vehicle score report can definitely highlight concerns, like lots of mechanical problems during past MOT records, vehicles that are expensive to tax or mileage tampering issues, but this isn’t a substitute for a full in-person inspection.
It’s important to note that an MOT won’t always pick up on every mechanical issue as the test involves a set list of checks that must be completed to ensure the vehicle is roadworthy, but some features of a vehicle won’t be inspected at all.
Should I buy a vehicle with a low score?
A low score should give you reason to stop and think carefully before you proceed, but it doesn’t always mean you need to walk away from a purchase.
For example, older vehicles with high mileage may have a low score and will likely cost more to maintain, but if you’re comfortable with this and are happy to take this risk, you may be able to find a bargain.