How To Check Car Write Off Status COMPLETELY FREE - Forget HPI Check - Cat C/Cat D Crash Check

I get sent car adverts all the time and I'm forever confronted with shady FaceBook ads that hide the number plates. After asking for the plates I'll do a quick check and find the car has previously been written off. I'm therefore sharing a way to check the Cat status of a car completely free.

[@queeny-l1r]

I bought a CAT S car a year ago (aug 24), …. Sailed through the MOT last week no advisories & goes like a little dream ! Sorry but not all are bad ! 😅

[@GentilsGarage]

That’s a great tip! Cars with blanked off plates and missing V5’s have increased in number recently. Many car flippers these days now as well

[@TogaruAI]

Thankyou you just saved me a wasted trip to see a car

[@cheekymonkehady7234]

saved me £6 on a search ,it was a huge red flag on a potential purchase , when owner said he only had the car a month .did some digging .new v5 issued 20 days earlier ... and then boom , thanks to your little hack =cat N appeared ! subscribed many thanks

[@IAMASPANNER]

Very glad to help and thanks for sharing your experience 👍

[@lafang8780]

It works very well! I'm so glad that I found your video before contacting those private sellers on facebook. I was looking at several Mini Coopers, then following your instruction, found almost all of them are Cat S!

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad to help!

[@findthatvin3817]

Lots of cars sold through salvage auctions appear clear on HPi check and Auto Trader however a vcheck will show if it was ever written off and sold through a salvage auction

[@ryanh3285]

You're correct if they don't show number plate keep scrolling if it doesn't say milage its always high.

[@cbv8]

Tolly some good advice and info there personally I wouldn't even look at a car with a blanked out reg or no V5 present.

[@Nervejam]

I was due to view a car tomorrow, but I used your AutoTrader trick, and it's a Cat C. The seller mentioned 'insurance' incident, but not 'write off'. Don't think I'll bother with it . Cheers!

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad to help and thanks for sharing your experience 👍

[@alistairhackett2495]

Just used this method today to check on a car and it showed it as written off. Thanks!

[@dg115]

I did this after watching your video for a mate who's buying a c70 coupe. Unfortunately for him it came up as a category n, which didn't show up on his check. I use rapid car check for free checks.

[@ejscisreal860]

Rapid car check is not free. £2.95 for a basic check and most of the important information you need to pay for a deluxe check £8.99.

[@aedwards4496]

My apologies, on rechecking it does show the insurance category of the cars which I searched for, because I hadn't scrolled down the Autotrader page far enough. Well done to you for this video and your quick reply. Tnx again

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad it worked for you in the end.

[@bero3937]

This guy is a fucking legend the method still works today perfect video mate

[@ryanh3285]

There is so many fake car adverts on Facebook I've stopped looking on there.

[@starlouise397]

I know I got scammed 😢 sent deposit then got blocked. Thicko me.

[@ryanh3285]

@@starlouise397 sorry to hear that

[@Hiblet]

This was a great help, really useful. Probably saved so many people a lot of headaches.

[@gurcemzekai1011]

Thanks for the tip mate. Been looking for a free check for a while.

[@Straight_Adam]

Great tip! Just used and it worked. Thank you.

[@mi6_007]

This is very helpful, used this trick to find status on a motorcycle.

[@olliebeck2952]

Brilliant tip, still works. Thank you.

[@roboquaid]

Is there a way to get the category N/S report? To include description of damage etc

[@SouthCoastFinest]

What ever happened to "Freedom of information"? It is absolutely disgusting that this country makes you pay to find out a vehicle's history and safety information. If the car is dangerous and you walk away the next family who view the vehicle has to pay for the same checks on the same car to get the same information.

[@fashadfarshadi5062]

Now AutoTrader deleted this option

[@IAMASPANNER]

It still works for me but I have to make sure I’m not logged in or it recognises my IP.

[@RR-mr5jh]

You’re the goat my friend, thank you🙏🏻

[@saikrishnareddy1512]

Just wasted 9.99 to know about this 😢, thank you again

[@Dubb1000]

Dude! You're the muvafuggin' man!

[@rantzzzrantzzz2568]

Great video. Is there a way of finding out when the car was damaged? I was stung by a private seller. Seemingly we have no rights whatsoever!

[@IAMASPANNER]

Thank you! I don't believe there's a way to see the dates without paying for a proper check unfortunately.

[@alexkyriacou8401]

Genius and still works

[@wongowonga]

Thanks for this, saved me buying a cat N :)

[@johndavies4644]

I've seen a few people who put there private reg on ( smack it on that reg) affix old plates on without telling dvla for the advert. Shows as hpi clear as the autotrader hpi will give you the old reg status.. unless you check the mot history. If it doesn't exist you know it ain't on that plate anymore Not once but a fair few times ive seen it.

[@YO_FOODIES]

Sadly it doesn't work anymore.

[@user-bm5kc3bc4i]

Hasn't seemed to work for me unfortunately. Can I email you for a quick check?

[@RSADYNAMICS]

this is not seem to work anymore do you know of any other way to check the crash history ?

[@lozmorgan7373]

Great video and info thanks It's probably better to buy from a dealer is it or should I still pay £9 for check for finance still on the car or does the car dealers do it thanks

[@IAMASPANNER]

I don’t trust dealers any more than I trust private sellers and sometimes even less so because their goal is to make money so they’ll never be as honest as a genuine private seller. You’re best off learning as much as you can about the car you want to buy and looking/driving a few of the same model before you make a decision.

[@lozmorgan7373]

@@IAMASPANNER at a dealer they can't sale a car that has finance on it so some protection

[@IAMASPANNER]

@@lozmorgan7373 protection against things they can’t get away with but they’ll certainly get away with anything they can.

[@motogablotapl6844]

great movie. thanks for this. do you know of any available methods to check the status of vehicle financing? are there any unpaid debts on it?

[@IAMASPANNER]

There aren’t any that I know of although I wonder if filling in the details to sell to a car buying service might bring it up?

[@AKhan-bs3cd]

Thanks mate, still works and saved couple of £ !!

[@amyweeks4250]

Can someone please tell me where on the V5 the cat is located? I've just been told when selling it on that it has previously been written on, unbeknownst to me!

[@selinagonza1186]

Tried doing this today. It won't show which Cat the vehicle it is. Maybe they found out about this loophole and shut the option

[@starlouise397]

It didn't work for me either, question.. does every car come up with a cat or just crashed ones?

[@richardbradbury8735]

Just tried a few vehicles and it worked every time for me

[@kam7524]

It works

[@harrisonbored6504]

Will this check show if finance in vehicle

[@Kevinmathewmanayil]

What if I buy a car with hpi without knowledge.? From a salvage auction.

[@Krafty]

PERFECT LITTLE HACK!! Thanks mate.

[@Nature7xGaming]

Love you ❤

[@akashnaik92]

It works. Thanks

[@bobibalakchiev6219]

Legend. Saved me time and money

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad to help!

[@ericbenstead1781]

Please please don’t all say we told you so I have jus bought a bmw m sport 2014 one owner fsh all bells and whistles as advertised ask if any accident damage no he replied I paid nine grand I later found out no history and cat s I am starting court proceedings what do you think my chances thanks all

[@scottishwildwanderer8335]

Tryed this with my car won’t let me not that insurance has been any help nearly a year later

[@RecapsArmy]

Thanks mate, saved me from cat s garbage

[@ryanharriss7950]

Very useful. Thanks

[@gul_twinkle8424]

Works! Great! Thank you...👍

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad to help!

[@Kawasaki_Keef]

Very helpful thanks mate 👍👍

[@Akhoteekha]

Nice one chuck now theyv stopped doing it. Was doing this years ago now its on youtube theyv stopped

[@IAMASPANNER]

Still working for me, try using private browsing without being logged in.

[@angelalee9142]

thanks for the tip.

[@hardworker8030]

How accurate is this as someone is listing a car on ebay as cat n but autotrader is saying it's cat s

[@IAMASPANNER]

If it says it’s Cat S then it’ll be Cat S. If you’re still interested in the car buy a VCheck or similar.

[@starlouise397]

Just tried it but not cat details came up... soo does that mean its clean?? Or its sussed the method ??

[@starlouise397]

Its got a log book v5 thing so should be OK viewing it in two days 🎉 lil suzuki alto 998 2014 model k10 boom 😊 first car

[@mehere3013]

they must have stopped it , one I'm checking goes straight through and passes 5 checks although it's damaged

[@khawarnasir8747]

Great share!

[@aedwards4496]

Interesting video. I've tried it with a car I may buy, nothing untoward came up.I then tried it on a cat S car from ebay and also a cat N car from Autotrader, still nothing flagged up. Maybe they've changed the algorithm

[@IAMASPANNER]

I’ve just given it a check with a random car on eBay, FL10 VHC, brought it straight up. I’ve no idea why some cars it doesn’t bring it up but I’ve found the same problem on a car I’ve previously owned, GY10 XUS, it doesn’t bring up that’s Cat C, I wonder if it has to do with private plates being fitted.

[@joypadee4289]

Thanks man 👍

[@karlvanderhyde1840]

Thanks mate 👍

[@amerrigan]

Brilliant stuff, thanks

[@BakedTuber]

Great tip. Thanks!

[@octavcotet8832]

👍 brilliant

[@Cabybara_4]

Unfortunately it's not showing to me

[@IAMASPANNER]

A few people seem to be having trouble maybe depending on the device, it still works for me on the iPhone app and on desktop. Maybe you need to be logged in?

[@cheekymonkehady7234]

i used laptop and firstly thought it hadn't worked till i scrolled further down and tapped on the highlighted symbol as of 30 6 23

[@pr4670]

That's not free lol, how do you check if there is mileage discrepancy or finance still on the car

[@IAMASPANNER]

It’s not a full HPI check but if you’re lucky enough to find a write off car that’s something. You could use MOT history to do your own quick check regarding mileage.

[@markrocketmangrimstead]

Helpful vid

[@melanierose7092]

Hi, is it difficult to get a new log book for a cat s car ?

[@IAMASPANNER]

I’m not 100% on this as I’ve never had to but I think the car just needs to pass an MOT.

[@smokedadowg]

Do you have one to show finance owing

[@IAMASPANNER]

You’d need a full check for that. I’ve been using Vcheck lately, they’re about £9 per car.

[@acakebread]

thanks for that.. saved me a tenner

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad I could help!

[@EjazRiaz-ce2kw]

Brilliant stuff thanks it works

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad to help!

[@wackey3455]

Very interesting 👌

[@buzzardboypike936]

This method has finished now , been using it for years ….

[@kam7524]

It still works

[@IAMASPANNER]

It still works, try private browsing and make sure you’re not logged in to Autotrader.

[@nobodyspecial6267]

Hide the numberplate because of getting their numberplates cloned by thieves Who check if it’s insured and then copy them

[@IAMASPANNER]

I’ve never hidden a number plate in all the years I’ve had well over 60 cars. I’ve never had an issue with cloning etc. I’ve had more issues with buyers filling in logbook as “traders” then getting speeding tickets sent to me.

[@slim4660]

Thanks

[@yashuy8662]

Thanks Mate !

[@ryanh3285]

Just did this on a car I'm getting Tomorrow which is cat n it's not on there as cat n maybe it takes a while.

[@IAMASPANNER]

Sometimes private regs can throw it out, I saw the same on a car I used to own. Always check the logbook.

[@OughAO]

This no longer works, you can amend/unapload the video.

[@IAMASPANNER]

Works fine for me.

[@barryneil689]

Thanks worked great

[@NordenEngineering]

Great tip

[@ericw9825]

thank you

[@new25651]

Thanks bro

[@uk2go]

top g

[@yahyamohammed5120]

fooken legend

[@brunofernandez6631]

Literally nonsense so firstly upon advertising my cars 3 times my number plates were cloned so some people do have the right reasons for blanking their plates out, also if a car is cat D or cat N it won’t say it on the V5 so mate you need to check your sources of information

[@IAMASPANNER]

What car was that out of interest? In probably 15 years of selling cars I’ve never had an issue. The only issue I’ve had is people filling logbook in as traders and me then receiving speeding tickets. And from experience I had thought all write off info is on the logbook but I have researched and as far as I can see only Cat C or S shows on the logbook. I must’ve only had Cat C in the past so yes I was incorrect on that, although not an issue if you use this method the search because it shows Cat D and N.

[@MrWestcliffe]

Unfortunately this irrelevant now. Autotrader has changed their web and app so you are not able to see it any more. Shame...

[@IAMASPANNER]

I’ve just tried this again and it’s still working for me. Try FL10 VHC, a random Cat S car I found advertised online.

[@MrWestcliffe]

@@IAMASPANNER still the same. My app is looking totally different then yours in the video. Im using an android device. And also Im loged in to my autotrader account. Is this might be an issue?

[@IAMASPANNER]

@@MrWestcliffe I’m not sure, had a few people say it doesn’t work and they haven’t scrolled down far enough. I’ve tried it on both the app and website it’s still working. Hope you figure it out.

[@BenBilesBB-box]

thanks , useful tool

[@IAMASPANNER]

Glad to help!

[@abu-amaan]

What a Don!!!

[@robloxfan4271]

bril tysm

[@leedstown]

Hpi check is rubbish use total car check

[@IAMASPANNER]

I use Vcheck, has been pretty good for showing salvage photos if applicable

[@paulsmith57]

I tried and did what you said on autotrader.pressed sell my car, first it said get an instant offer but below that it said,create my advert so I pressed that, put number plate in and my car came up but no side info, like it does in your video, DO you know why? Or can you.help me? Because I've just bought a used mini from a private seller and sertain things are suspicious to me now

[@IAMASPANNER]

There are some circumstances where this doesn’t seem to work, I’m not sure why but it could be when cars have had private plates fitted. I would always suggest getting a full check before buying a car. This method will just give you a quick idea when to avoid a car.