Selling a car privately

Read the available report against what you know about the car. Compare the most recent recorded mileage with the odometer, review any repeated MOT advisories and note finance or write off findings that may prompt questions. Include the report date in your notes.

If something does not match, investigate before advertising. The report may surface an older entry, a previous registration or a mistake that needs explaining. Preparing the evidence early is more useful than trying to resolve a buyer’s question during a rushed viewing.

Organise service invoices and repair records in date order. Match them to the vehicle and highlight the documents that explain work noted in its MOT history. Separate paperwork you can show at a viewing from information that should not be posted publicly.

A Car Check PDF gives you a dated summary to keep with these records. It does not replace the original service history or confirm every repair. Where you do not have evidence, explain what is missing instead of filling the gap with an assumption.

Use the current displayed mileage and check the vehicle details you publish. Describe maintenance and repairs in terms you can support. A recent service receipt, a specific repair invoice and a full documented history are different claims, so choose the wording that matches your paperwork.

Do not describe an unavailable report result as clear, or use a clear result to claim that the car has never been damaged. If a write off or mileage discrepancy needs explaining, prepare a factual account with relevant documents. Buyers should be able to connect your description with the evidence you show them.

If a finance agreement is recorded or you know that finance remains, speak to the provider about the position and its process before agreeing a sale. Ask what documentation it can provide. Do not assume that sending a buyer a report settles the agreement or establishes your right to transfer the car.

Keep any settlement confirmation with your other records and allow the buyer to verify relevant information independently. If the history report and the provider’s response differ, retain both and explain the discrepancy accurately rather than promising when the source record will change.

GOV.UK says you can show a prospective buyer the logbook to check that it matches the vehicle. It also advises against sharing the document reference number or pictures and copies of the logbook. Arrange to show the original appropriately rather than adding it to the advert or sending a full image in a message.

Prepare other documents with the same care. Review them for unrelated personal information before sharing a copy. You can answer questions about a dated repair or report without giving someone access to your Car Check account or publishing private documents.

For a sale where the vehicle stays in the UK, GOV.UK instructs the seller to give the buyer the green new keeper slip and notify DVLA of the sale. Follow its current guidance, including the different process if you do not have the logbook. A vehicle history report does not perform that notification.

Vehicle tax does not transfer to the buyer. Keep confirmation of the sale and the documents relevant to it, and direct the buyer to the official tax and registration instructions. Car Check supports your preparation; the payment, sale agreement and DVLA handover remain separate steps.

Tell DVLA when the vehicle changes keeper. The seller’s tax is cancelled through that notification, with any eligible refund based on full remaining months. The buyer does not receive the remaining tax and needs to make their own arrangements before driving.

Agree when and how the handover will happen, and retain the sale details and confirmation. Do not send a buyer away on the assumption that the vehicle’s pre-sale taxed status covers them. If the car will be kept off road, a previous keeper’s SORN does not transfer either.