Enter an Irish or UK registration number to get a Free Vehicle Identification Check.  More extensive Cartell Car Checks start from just €10.

Cartell found problems no mechanic could find. When I went back to the seller and told him I’d done a cartell.ie check his face dropped. He knew there was no hiding or trying to pull the wool over my eyes.
Brian D


Risks of not doing a Cartell Car Check

Every year thousands of people buy used cars that have a hidden history, avoid the disappointment and get a Cartell Car Check. If you purchase a vehicle and you discover its hidden past when it’s too late, it could end up costing you thousands of Euros.

Below is a breakdown of the risks you are taking when you don’t carry out a Cartell Car Check.

Also beware of Cartell copies, there is only one company that gives you the full Cartell history and that is Cartell.ie!

Mileage   

Cartell Car Check - mileageCartell currently identify that 11% of Irish vehicles have mileage inconsistencies and 18% for UK imports.  The Actual figure is estimated to be as high as 30% for certain types of vehicles. If you don’t carry out a mileage check with Cartell, you run the risk of buying a clocked car. This means that you will have paid more for the vehicle then what it’s worth. It also means that you have no idea when the service was last done or when it’s due. Also you won’t know when the timing belt and other essential car parts were last changed and if this fails then it’s likely you will need to replace the engine which can be a significant cost.

The importance of using Cartell to check the mileage is not only because we own the National Mileage Register, NMR (Ireland’s largest mileage database by more than double) but Cartell is also the only company in Ireland with licensed access to the UK National Mileage Register and only Cartell can investigate mileage discrepancies free of charge!

For more about mileage click here or log onto www.nmr.ie

Finance

Cartell Car Check - financeApproximately 16% of vehicles checked on Cartell have outstanding finance associated with them. This means that almost 1 in 5 cars do not officially belong to the owner but to a finance house.

If you buy a vehicle without checking the finance status, then you run the risk of losing the vehicle completely! Then, if payments stop, the finance house will seek the asset. In this case, the Collections Department of a finance house can call to your house and take the vehicle. You lose your money and vehicle even if you are not responsible for the finance owned on it. The banks don’t care – they will simply seize the vehicle from the current owner to try to recuperate their losses.

Cartell checks the finance status of every vehicle and with every bank. Not only do we get the information from the ‘HPI(Ireland)’ we will also contact the finance house directly to get a live verified result. As mistakes can be made whilst information is passed between dealer and finance house, and between finance house and the HPI(Ireland), Cartell have many practices in place to help reduce this to a minimum, and our support team have an excellent working relationship with the financial institutions in terms of getting finance matter checked and verified quickly. All other companies just pass on the information directly without verifying it,and as a result the information you receive may not be totally accurate.

For UK vehicles, Cartell is the only consumer website that can check the full financial status through our partners HPI UK. If you have received an ‘inconclusive’ finance result from another car check in Ireland for a UK vehicle you should request your money back, and send a complaint to the National Consumer Agency as you have not received the finance check you have paid for.

Write-off

Cartell Car Check - write offBuying a vehicle that has been previously written off for a heavy impact, can put you and your passenger’s lives at risk. Not only have you paid more for your vehicle, but it could cost you your life! All vehicles are designed and built to withstand one heavy impact. If this has happened to your vehicle previously and you were involved in a crash later, then the structure of the vehicle could collapse around you causing more injury or even death. Write-offs are categorised by levels of damage. And Cartell will be able to provide you with information on what category of damage your vehicle has been subject to in the past. This is increasingly important especially with imported vehicles as there are many incidences of damaged cars being repaired and resold, and often the buyer can be none the wiser (unless they run a Cartell Car History Check).

Cartell offers the largest database of write off information for Ireland and the UK to help protect you from buying such vehicles. For more on write-off, click here.

Cloning

Cartell Car Check - cloningCar cloning is the vehicle equivalent of identity theft. It is estimated in the UK that there are as many as 10,000 cloned cars on the roads.

Criminals make a ‘clone’ of another car by changing the number plates and Chassis/VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) on their car with new registration plates and Chassis/VIN from an almost identical vehicle of the same make, model and even colour.

If you don’t carry out a Cartell Car Check you run the risk of potentially buying a cloned vehicle. Cartell can verify all the paperwork (Vehicle Registration Certificate and NCT Certificate) and the Chassis/VIN .

Taxi/Hackney

It may not always be obvious that a vehicle was used as a Taxi/Hackney. The only way to find out for sure is to carry out a Cartell Car Check.

Cartell has the longest and most detailed history checks available so is the only company in Ireland that can be relied upon to accurately identify an ex Taxi or Hackney.

Misleading information

When you buy a vehicle you may be misled to believe that it had only one owner, or that it was never a company car or that it even had a valid NCT or Tax disc.

You can see the level of detail provided in a Cartell History check by viewing this sample report

Armed with this knowledge you can be confident that your investment in your vehicle of choice is a safe one.

A lot of buyers can be misled and only find out when it’s too late. A Cartell Car Check will give you all the information you need and may even help you haggle the price.

Buying and Selling During the Covid-19 Outbreak

There are of course unique challenges associated with both purchasing and selling a vehicle during a global epidemic and Cartell would advise those involved in the transaction of motor vehicles during this period to be aware of new norms.

A Cartell car history check is something recommended at the best of times but particularly in the current climate so that you can avoid any unnecessary travel or interactions and ensure that the vehicle you intend to buy is as advertised.

Furthermore, buyers should be aware of new facilities and services being offered by dealers. The Coronavirus has in many ways inspired greater innovation in selling and we can see examples like Joe Duffy’s rebranded digital dealership (see right) with its virtual showroom and Carwow, the British car comparison website that recently launched the ‘Delivery and Disinfections’ initiative, which allows dealers to promote their remote services, including home test drives, virtual tours, and zero-contact buying.

During the current pandemic, the most effective way to complete a sale is via contactless delivery, and even when the virus comes to an end the savvy customer will be demanding this level of convenience.  Similarily dealers are having to up their game when it comes to in-car cleanliness, ensuring that vehicles are thoroughly cleaned prior to any delivery or test.

The rules of the game have changed but one requirement will always remain – the peace of mind that the vehicle is what the seller says it is. And that information is always just a few clicks away with a Cartell Car History Check.

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