What is an HPI check?

You need the vehicle identification number (VIN), the registration plate and the seller's ID, and you check that the VIN stamped on the chassis matches the paperwork. Search the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) by VIN or chassis number, not by registration number: the search returns an extract showing any registered security interests, the creditor, the registration date and priority. It costs a small fee, and the search certificate is worth keeping. A commercial vehicle history report (the HPI-style product) adds insurer write-off records, stolen flags and odometer checks from other data sources.

Interpret the result carefully. A clear VIN search taken close to the purchase gives the buyer statutory protection under the PPSA, so the vehicle is taken free of a security interest that was unregistered or registered against the wrong details; a registration-number search does not carry that protection. An active registration names the creditor and needs to be discharged before you settle. A prior, discharged registration helps confirm a seller's claim that finance was cleared.

For a buyer, undisclosed finance means the car is not free of security: the secured creditor keeps its rights despite the sale and can recover the vehicle. For a lender or lessor financing that car, an earlier security interest ranks ahead of theirs, which reduces recovery options and increases write-off risk. Write-off history also lowers residual value and can affect insurance.

That is why brokers and lenders arranging car loans or asset finance run a PPSR search before settlement, and register their own security interest promptly once they proceed. Failing to detect an encumbrance undermines the credit assessment and the lender's PPSR procedures.

Pause. Do not transfer funds or take delivery until it is resolved. Ask the seller for a dated discharge letter or settlement receipt from the financier named on the extract, and where possible contact that financier directly to confirm. Brokers and lessors can make settlement conditional on a clear PPSR extract or discharge certificate, or hold funds in escrow until the seller obtains the discharge. If the seller cannot prove the finance is cleared, the safest option is to walk away.

Keep the limitations in mind: there can be a short lag between a financier discharging a loan and the register reflecting it, the PPSR does not show private disputes or unregistered claims, and VIN errors or fraudulent documents can mislead a search, so a clear result lowers the risk without removing it entirely.