The majority of used car buyers are not checking history on vehicle before purchasing, according to new data from the RAC.

Data shows 10% of buyers will check history.

The data from the RAC Car Passport service showed that out of a sample of over 21,000 checks almost one quarter (23%) highlighted serious issues with a vehicle’s history that should be of significant concern to any buyer.

These included: one in eight with outstanding finance (12.5%); one in 10 (9.4%) which had been recorded as an insurance write-off; one in 100 (0.8%) which had a colour change; one in 1,000 recorded as having been scrapped (0.1%); and one in 2,000 that were marked as stolen (0.05%).

A separate study of drivers who had purchased an RAC Car Passport data check found that one in three (33%) decided not to purchase the car they were looking at based on the information they received in the report.

Happily, two thirds (67%) of motorists went on to buy the vehicle that they had originally been smitten by after completing the check and almost half (48%) of these had the confidence to complete the deal in under 48 hours.

Robert Diamond, RAC Car Passport managing director, said: “These figures reveal the risks used-car buyers are taking by not obtaining a simple car data check to uncover any suspect history their intended purchase may be hiding.

“Buying a car can be a stressful experience because of the sums of money involved so it makes sense to find out as much as you can about a car’s history as it may just save you thousands of pounds.”