Buying a used car: guides

• How to read an MOT history before you buyWhat fails, advisories, minors and mileage readings in a car's MOT history tell you, which patterns are red flags, and what to ask the seller about each.
• How to spot clocked mileageHow to tell if a used car's mileage has been wound back: reading the MOT mileage record, what typical mileage looks like by age, and the physical signs to check at a viewing.
• What to check when viewing a used carA practical checklist for viewing a used car in the UK: the paperwork, the VIN and V5C, the bodywork, under the bonnet, the test drive, and the questions to ask the seller.
• Buying on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and AutoTraderHow to buy a used car safely on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and AutoTrader: the scams on each, private seller versus dealer rights, and the checks to run before you pay.
• Cat S, Cat N and write-offs explainedWhat Cat A, B, S and N mean, how they replaced Cat C and D, whether a Cat S or Cat N car is worth buying, and how to find out if a car has been written off.
• Is the free gov.uk MOT check enough?What the free gov.uk MOT history and DVLA vehicle checks show, what they leave out (finance, stolen, write-offs, the advert), and when a paid check is worth it.

• RegTail vs the free gov.uk MOT checkWhat the free government checks show, and what they leave to you.
• RegTail vs HPI CheckFinance, stolen and write-off registers against advert and MOT checks.
• RegTail vs the AA car history checkThe AA's tiers and what each one adds.
• RegTail vs carVerticalPrice, MOT history, mileage, imports and damage photos.

Pass rates, common failures and typical mileage for each make and model are on the MOT statistics pages.