Vehicle Inspections FAQs

During the RAC Vehicle Inspection we check the following:

• Body exterior

• Engine compartment

• Electrical/controls

• Interior luggage compartment

• Front suspension steering

• Clutch/transmission - manual

• Rear suspension and underframe

• Wheels and tyres

• Exhaust system

• Fuel system

• Brakes

• And take the car for a road test.

For a full list of what's included in the inspection, please see the RAC Vehicle Inspection checklist.

Yes - before you buy a new car, you can get an RAC Vehicle Inspection carried out by an experienced RAC engineer to check whether a car is roadworthy and safe to drive before you buy it.

Why have an RAC Vehicle Inspection

• To give you confidence that the car is roadworthy and safe to drive

• Because 75% of the cars we have inspected would fail their MOT

• Because over 80% of the cars we have inspected have faults that would cost more than £200 to repair.

For more information, please visit the RAC Vehicle Inspections page.

Yes, RAC can provide an  HPI car history report (view a sample report) for a low fee.

An RAC car history report (HPI car data check) confirms the vehicle details (such as make, model, colour, engine size etc.), along with its export/scrap status. It also checks if the car has been recorded as stolen on the Police National Computer, checks if it has been written off by an insurance company (and whether it has subsequently been inspected and returned to the road), whether it still has outstanding finance against it, whether it is at risk of being sold illegally and whether it has any mileage discrepancies/has been clocked. It also provides a valuation.

For more information and to get a car check, please visit car history report and car data check page.