My Car Check reveals vehicle makes most likely to have write-off, finance and stolen warnings

Honda (% write-offs), Audi (% finance), Land Rover (% stolen and overall)

• 46% of vehicles searched in 2015 had at least one warning against them

• Estimated 3.3 million used cars sold in UK last year had a warning against them

• Download the full reportFREE, including profiles of the top 5 most searched makes -Ford, Vauxhall, VW, BMW and Audi -at:https://www.mycarcheck.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mycarcheck-vehicle-search-data-insight-report-2015.pdf

"Almost half of all vehicles we checked in 2015 had at least one warning against them. How many buyers would have gone ahead with their purchase at the agreed price if they had conducted a provenance check and made themselves aware of these issues?"

- Roger Powell, Head of My Car Check

Published online on Thursday 21 April 2016, Making Better Used Car Choices is a major new 30-page report by vehicle provenance company My Car Check.

Based onMy Car Check's 2015 search data, and the results of a February 2016 survey of 649 My Car Check customers,it names thevehicle manufacturers most likely to have write-off, finance and stolen warnings against them, along with a wealth of other statistics on the decisions and dangers facing UK used vehicle buyers.The main findings include:

• 46% of vehicles searched in 2015 had at least one warning against them

• Estimated 3.3 million used cars sold in UK last year had a warning against them

• Top warnings: 1. Plate transfer (48%) 2. Write-off (29%) 3. Finance (13%)

• The average value of used vehicles searched in 2015 was £7,632

• Most searched manufacturers: 1. Ford (12.2%) 2. Vauxhall (10.8%) 3. VW (9.6%)

• Top models: 1. Fiesta Zetec (9.3%) 2. Mini Cooper (8.5%) 3. Golf GT TDI (6.5%)

• 48% of My Car Check customers prefer to buy privately, rather than from dealers

• 48% of My Car Check customers buy a used car every two to three years

• 96% of My Car Check customers checkbeforebuying the vehicle

• Make with the highest % of warnings overall: Land Rover (65.75%)

• Make with the highest % of write-off warnings: Honda (19.43%)

• Make with the highest % of finance warnings: Audi (11.78%)

• Make with the highest % of stolen warnings: Land Rover (less than 1%)

Head of My Car Check, Roger Powell, said:"Almost half of all vehicles we checked in 2015 had at least one warning against them - an advisory warning, such as a registration plate transfer or colour change, or a serious warning, such as a stolen, finance or write-off alert. Of the 7.2 million used cars sold in the UK last year, how many buyers would have gone ahead with their purchase at the agreed price if they had conducted a provenance check and made themselves aware of these issues?

"Buying a car is a big deal. For the price of a few litres of fuel you can access vital facts and figures the seller might not know, or not want to tell you. Our checks frequently save people from making costly used car mistakes. However, it isimportant to note that 54% of our checks come back clear. More often than not, we give buyers confidence that they're making the right decision. This report, Making Better Used Car Choices, will help more consumers to end up with cars they love."

Land Rover

Land Rover was the manufacturer with the highest percentage of warnings against it overall, with 65.75% of Land Rover vehicles checked by My Car Check in 2015 having at least one warning against them. Land Rover was also the make most likely to be stolen, with 0.32% of all Land Rovers checked by My Car Check in 2015 showing as stolen on the police register.

Gavin Amos, Head of Valuation Services at My Car Check, said:"Land Rover has some of the most desirable vehicles around, so it is no surprise that thieves go after them. Their position isn't helped by the Defender becoming such an icon. This classic model has remained largely unchanged for half a century. The fact that it has just gone out of production has only served to boost its popularity and, in modern terms, Defenders are soft targets for criminals. Land Rover also offers some very attractive new car finance packages, so outstanding finance warnings are another contributory factor to its unwanted position at the top of the warnings table. On the up side, it had by far the lowest write-off percentage of any manufacturer, just12.05%."

Audi

Audi had the highest percentage of finance debt warnings of any manufacturer with 11.78% of all Audi vehicles checked in 2015 showing a potential outstanding finance issue.

Gavin Amos, Head of Valuation Services at My Car Check, said:"The fact that usedAudi vehicles are most likely to have finance debt is a backhanded compliment to their astonishingly successful new car finance packages.Unfortunately, there remains a serious lack of awareness about the risk of buying a second hand car with outstanding finance. Under the increasingly popular Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) agreements, the debt is usually secured against the vehicle, rather than the individual. A quarter of all cars on our roads actually belong to a finance company, not the people who drive them. Selling a vehicle owned by a finance company, sub-hiring, is illegal but very common. Whether the seller knows this or not, the crux for buyers is that the finance company can be within their rights to seize the vehicle back. As a full member of both the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) and the Motor Asset Registration Service (MARS), our data can be the difference between buying a vehicle completely legally and being left hugely out of pocket with no car to show for it."

Honda

Although Honda performed better than average in terms of overall warnings (44% of Honda vehicles checked by My Car Check in 2015 had at least one warning against them versus an all manufacturer average of 46%), it had the highest percentage of write-off warnings of any manufacturer, almost 1 in 5 checked (19.43%).

Gavin Amos, Head of Valuation Services at My Car Check, said:"Honda's appearance at the top of the write-off table is intriguing because there are two very different factors at play. At one end of the scale you have their sporty variants, such as the Type R Civic and S2000, which appeal to young performance enthusiasts, some of whom can't handle the power. At the other end of the spectrum, you have more sensible models, such as the Jazz, which appeal to older drivers, who can also be higher risk."

With information from the police, DVLA, insurers and finance houses, My Car Check holds up to 77 fields of data for every vehicle on UK roads - all points that buyers should be aware of before making an offer.

CDL Vehicle Information Services, which owns My Car Check, performs over a million look-ups a day for companies including AutoExpress, CompareTheMarket, Go-Compare, Moneysupermarket, Swiftcover, Tesco and WhatCar?.