Vehicle Check FAQ
A Vehicle Check Report is a comprehensive report on a used car's history. A Vehicle Check Report gives you the confidence and peace of mind to make what can be a very stressful and difficult process a lot easier and safer. All Vehicle Check Reports will also show:
Information registered by manufacturer
This confirms that the information, legal status and origin of the vehicle are accurate. It confirms that this information has in fact been registered by either the Manufacturer or the Importer.
Factory fitted extras
When a vehicle is built, certain additional items can be added to the vehicle at the time of manufacture. Below is the list of factory fitted extras that the manufacture has on record for the vehicle concerned.
Finance
Considering that an estimated 60% of new cars sold every year in South Africa are purchased using some form of finance agreement, outstanding finance is a major part of the Verification Report. With over 2.7 million current financial agreements registered on our database, you need to validate if the vehicle you want to buy is not subject to one of them. If it is subject to a financial agreement, you need to ensure that arrangements have been made to settle the existing finance.
Finance history
This is a list of finance interest previously recorded on the vehicle, by agreement type, that has been 'settled'. This means that the finance house in question financed the vehicle from the 'Start Date' but the vehicle is no longer financed by that particular financial institution. The finance interest came to an end at the stipulated 'End Date'.
Police stolen interest
This section confirms whether the vehicle in question is sought by the South African Police Services (SAPS). Considering that between 3 to 4.5% of all vehicle enquiries display a SAPS interest, it is critical to ensure that the vehicle you are buying is not subject to any SAPS interest. Should you believe that any SAPS information listed here is incorrect, please obtain a SAPS clearance on the vehicle prior to purchasing. A SAPS clearance can be obtained at your local SAPS station. Remember to have the vehicle details (VIN, engine, registration) and your South African ID on hand when requesting a SAPS clearance.
Alert interest
This section lists any industry alerts that have been placed on a vehicle for a reason other than that the vehicle is stolen. Other adverse conditions include but are not limited to cloned vehicle alerts, in transit status issues, owner absconded and fraud type indicators.
Accident indicator
Accident data indicates whether the vehicle has had an assessment for the repair of damage. Currently this is limited to vehicles assessed as part of an insurance claim as reported to third party provider.
Microdot
The Microdot Enhanced Security Application is a vehicle marking system that applies thousands of dots, each the size of a grain of sand. The dots are invisible to the naked eye and virtually impossible to remove, which makes them an enhanced vehicle-theft deterrent. If the vehicle you are enquiring upon has a Microdot listing, please use the details listed in the report to contact the relevant institution and determine the vehicle's current status.
VESA security history
VESA is the Vehicle Security Association of South Africa which is an association of aftermarket vehicle security vendors. This section lists each aftermarket security device as fitted by a legitimate VESA member. Devices would include gear locks, immobilisers and/or telematics devices.
Registration number history
This lists the last three registration numbers received by third party provider through enquiries previously made on the vehicle.
Enquiry history
This lists the last three enquiries made on the vehicle by date to show you how many times the vehicle has been enquired upon.
Mileage history
This lists the last three recorded kilometer readings (odometer) to show you the vehicles trend. This allows you to determine if there are any discrepancies in the odometer reading that you may wish to clarify with the vehicle owner. While there may be a legitimate reason for discrepancies, a lower odometer reading compared to previous odometer readings could indicate that there has been some interference with the odometer.
A Vehicle Check Report may prevent you from buying a car with a hidden past.
A car which has SAPS interests could be impounded, leaving you without a car and out of pocket. Don't get taken for a ride - a Vehicle Check Report can give you the peace of mind that you're getting what you pay for.
Yes, and what better way to show prospective buyers that the car you're selling is a sound purchase! It's as easy as showing them your independent Vehicle Check Report to demonstrate your car's clean history and give them the confidence to buy your car today.
If you find the information on a report is not accurate, contact us at customerservice@autotrader.co.za. Please supply us with the VIN and registration number of the vehicle, attach a copy of the report and tell us what information is not accurate. Leave your contact details and one of our agents will investigate the issue.
The information supplied in a Vehicle Check Report is extracted from information provided by various 3rd parties, internal and external sources. It is only as accurate and up to date as what has been entered into the national databases. For terms and conditions, click here
The report will cost you R99.00 inclusive of VAT.
Step 1
Authorisation will be done on your Credit Card and the R99 payment will be reserved. The R99 will not be debited from your card until we are sure a report is available for the VIN or Registration number you provided.
Step 2
If the report is available, then R99 will debited from your account and your report will be delivered. If we do not have details on the vehicle you are querying, then we will reverse the charge from your card immediately and payment will not occur.
Step 3
If authorisation could not be done on your card for some reason you will be given the option to try a different payment method or card.
Should no report be found for the VIN or Registration number you provided, no amount will be debited from your card and you will have the option to try again or to enter a different VIN or Registration number.
Vehicle Check provides information on passenger vehicles only. While in some cases, limited information about large commercial vehicles, "yellow metal" vehicles, motorcycles and trailers might be returned, reports on these types of vehicles will always be incomplete. Furthermore, for some passenger vehicles, particularly older or extremely rare models, a complete set of data might simply not be available. Finally, data might also not be available for a particular element of a vehicle's specifications, status or history.
If you are blocking pop ups, your Vehicle Check report will not be able to download automatically.