UK vehicle check comparison
Caroat vs Motorscan for a UK vehicle check
Both services offer free UK vehicle information and paid history reports. Caroat has the lower listed single price. Motorscan names extra checks and a data guarantee that Caroat does not currently promise.
Competitor pricing checked .
Caroat is a UK vehicle check service at caroat.co.uk. This comparison is published by Caroat, one of the two services. We used Motorscan's own live pricing, checkout and report feature pages. Those pages currently disagree on price, so this page records the conflict instead of choosing the figure that suits Caroat.
Side by side comparison
Caroat and Motorscan, checked 31 August 2026
| Decision point | Caroat | Motorscan | What matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| One report | £6.99 one-off. See Caroat pricing. | £10.99 on the pricing page, but £9.99 at checkout. | The Motorscan figure is not settled across its own pages. Caroat is lower than both displayed prices. |
| Five report package | No five report package is listed. Caroat offers two reports for £9.99. | £32.45 on the pricing page, but £29.99 at checkout. | This is not like for like with Caroat's two report bundle, so the totals should not be ranked against each other. |
| Free check | MOT, tax, mileage and core vehicle details are available before buying paid history. | MOT, tax, mileage, identity and technical details are advertised as free. Source. | Both let a buyer screen a car before paying for commercial records. |
| Finance data | Outstanding finance is included through the UK finance register used by Caroat's provider. | Finance check powered by Experian. Source. | Both name outstanding finance as a paid check. Motorscan publicly names Experian. |
| Core paid history | Finance, write-off, stolen, mileage, keepers, plate history, import, export, scrap, identity and value. | Finance, write-off, stolen, mileage, keepers, plate history, import, export and scrap checks. Source. | The main UK buying risk fields overlap substantially. |
| Extra published fields | The current £6.99 offer does not promise factory equipment, ex-taxi or ex-police records as separate checks. | Motorscan advertises factory equipment, salvage auction and ex-taxi or ex-police checks. Source. | If one of these fields is central to the car, Motorscan states the clearer coverage. |
| Data guarantee | No fixed monetary data guarantee is promised in the current offer. | £30,000 data guarantee advertised. Source. | Read the guarantee terms and exclusions before treating it as protection for a specific loss. |
A listed feature means the service says it checks that source. It does not mean every vehicle will return a record.
How the single report prices compare
Caroat is £3 less than Motorscan's lowest current official figure and £4 less than the figure on Motorscan's pricing page. That comparison uses one paid UK history report from each service. It does not divide a larger bundle into a lower unit price and present it as the price of one report.
The Motorscan price difference may be a page update issue or a live offer. We could not verify which page controls the amount charged without starting a purchase. The safe statement is that the official pages show both figures.
Where Motorscan is stronger on published coverage
Motorscan names Experian as its finance source on the pricing page. It also advertises a £30,000 data guarantee. Its full history page lists factory equipment, salvage auction history and specialist use checks such as ex-taxi and ex-police records.
Caroat's current paid offer does not promise those items as separate checks and does not advertise a fixed monetary data guarantee. A buyer who needs one of those named Motorscan fields should treat that as a genuine advantage and read the applicable terms before purchase.
Where Caroat is the simpler choice
Caroat has one clear single report price in its offer: £6.99, paid once, with no subscription. The free result keeps official MOT, tax, mileage and core specifications separate from commercial risk data. The paid report then brings finance, write-off, stolen, keeper, identity, plate and valuation records into a private responsive report.
Price is not the only factor. It is still material when the two reports cover the same main UK buying risks. The useful question is whether Motorscan's extra named checks and guarantee matter for the car you are considering.
What both checks still cannot prove
A clean database result is not a mechanical inspection. It cannot prove that an unrecorded repair was done well, that a service stamp is genuine, that the clutch is healthy or that the seller owns the car. A clear result only means no record was found in the sources checked.
Compare the VIN on the car with the V5C and the report. Inspect the vehicle in daylight and consider an independent engineer. Our guide on vehicle check limitations explains the evidence that should sit beside any online report.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Caroat if you want the lower listed single price for the main UK history checks.
- Consider Motorscan if its named Experian source, data guarantee or specialist fields matter to you.
- Confirm the Motorscan basket total because its pricing pages do not currently match.
- Use the free record first, then buy paid history for a car that remains on your shortlist.
- Do not treat either report as a substitute for checking the VIN, documents and physical condition.
How this comparison was checked
We used Motorscan's pricing page, checkout page, full history page and homepage. We did not copy its review claims or use third party rankings. Competitor pricing checked 31 August 2026.