The plate doesn’t change. The decision framework does.
You’ve already found a car, or you’re about to. The question isn’t only whether the record looks clean. It’s whether this deal works the way you’re buying it: under the hammer, on a dealer forecourt, from a private seller, or off-market with only a reg or VIN. Same registration. Different risk, rights, and next step.
If you’re still building the listing-first habit (paste, Free, then Custom or Premium, buy/hold/walk), start with How to check if a used car listing is a good buy (UK). This guide zooms in on channel. Paste the listing, registration, or VIN into UseRalph when you’re ready to run it for real. Want the shape of a finished report? Open the sample report.
This page is UK. US pathways are auction and off-market only, and they are not covered here.
Why channel changes the verdict
Listing context beats “reg only.” Price, photos, seller wording, and how you’re buying change what “good buy” means. A private hold can become an auction walk once fees, transport, and repair exposure are counted. A dealer “buy” framing still sits under consumer law you won’t get in a private sale.
Ralph’s job is a verdict on this listing for this channel, not a generic health score. Free still filters identity, MOT, and mileage. Free does not clear outstanding finance, stolen markers, or insurance write-offs.
Paid path is Custom or Premium. Custom buys named evidence (Previous Advert History at 8 credits, Auction Lot Analysis at 8 credits when you have a lot URL). Custom does not invent a whole-car score, a valuation, a max bid, or a buy/avoid from a subset. Premium (25 credits, £9.99 pack framing on the homepage) adds licensed finance, stolen, and write-off markers, valuation, and price or bid guidance before money moves. Vehicle history data is licensed from third-party providers, including data provided by Experian. See Ralph’s Terms for what that data does and does not cover.
Auction: evidence without a test drive
You usually can’t test drive. Evidence is the lot description, photos, history, and what you can infer about fees and repairs. Supported auction links on Ralph’s homepage include Copart and IAA/SYNETIQ. Share the listing link and the registration. Ralph pulls lot facts and pictures. If a link can’t be extracted, enter the registration or VIN plus the key claims and still run the check. Do not treat BCA, Manheim, or an unnamed host as a supported public extract.
Auction Lot Analysis is a Custom Check at 8 credits. It needs that auction URL. It reads the listing, declared condition, lot facts, and photos. It does not produce a maximum bid. Other Custom cards that often matter on salvage lots: Accident & Write-off Records (12 credits), Salvage & Taxi Use (10 credits), or Past Damage & Hard Use (16 credits), which bundles those two.
Ralph’s auction Premium weighs those inputs and guides a maximum bid: the most you can pay once costs are counted and the numbers still work. Fold in buyer’s fees, transport, and likely repairs. Put your own transport quote in; Copart only quotes delivery to a signed-in buyer. If the lot only works below a line you won’t win at, that’s a walk before the hammer, not after.
Treat Premium as the layer before a serious bid. Finance, stolen, and write-off markers matter as much at auction as they do on a forecourt, and you have less room to unwind a bad purchase after the hammer falls. An online “buy” framing still isn’t a mechanical inspection. Photos miss hidden damage. If the lot description and the record disagree in ways that kill the economics, walk.
Dealer: advert vs record, then your rights
Compare the advert to the record: mileage claims, condition language, service story, and valuation. Ralph surfaces negotiating points and a clear next step, buy, hold for answers, or walk. Previous Advert History (Custom, 8 credits, and included in Premium) often exposes a different price, damage note, or mileage story from last month’s listing of the same car. Market Price Comparison (12 credits) needs current mileage, a postcode, and dealer type, and compares the asking price with similar cars currently for sale. Comparable volume is not a promised count.
Purchases from dealers sit under the Consumer Rights Act. Goods should be of satisfactory quality, as described, and fit for purpose. For rights detail and how to escalate, use Citizens Advice on buying a used car. Don’t treat any tool as a substitute for that advice.
A clean MOT history isn’t enough to pay a deposit. Run Free first via GOV.UK’s MOT history check or Ralph’s free layer, then a Custom card if one gap is the whole question, then Premium on the one car you’re about to buy. Official buying steps also live on GOV.UK’s checks when buying a used car.
Private: fewer protections, more “hold until proven”
Private sales carry fewer legal protections than a dealer sale. Ralph’s private mode checks the seller’s story against the record, flags missing evidence, and tells you what to ask and verify before paying. Expect more “hold until X is proven” outcomes: V5C in the seller’s name, consistent keepers, and claims that survive previous adverts.
Again, Citizens Advice is the place for rights and payment caution. Ralph’s job is the listing-versus-record verdict, not legal advice, and not a substitute for seeing the car.
Walk early on free evidence when mileage goes the wrong way, identity doesn’t line up, or the MOT trail can’t absorb the “one careful owner” wording. Save paid credits for cars that still deserve travel and a deposit conversation. On private lots, Finance & Theft Check (16 credits) or the separate Money Owed (14) and Stolen Check (10) cards are the named Custom path if that single marker is the question. Premium is the complete decision if you are about to pay.
Off-market: reg or VIN, no live advert
No listing to paste. Enter the registration or VIN. Free still filters identity, MOT, and mileage. Custom still buys a named record (previous adverts, stolen, write-off). Premium still belongs on the car you’re about to pay for. You still view the vehicle and match documents. Off-market is not a marketplace Ralph runs. It is a pathway with less advert context, so hold is common until the story is proven in person.
Same Free, then Custom or Premium path, channel-aware ending
- Free glance. Identity, MOT, mileage on useralph.co.uk. No sign-up. Walk if the free layer fails.
- Custom for a named gap. 8 credits for Previous Advert History, or 8 credits for Auction Lot Analysis when you have a lot URL. Other catalogue items are itemised before you run them.
- Premium before pay or bid. 25 credits (£9.99 pack context) for finance, stolen, write-off, valuation, and price or auction max-bid guidance on the one car you’re serious about.
- Compare. Line up several options on /compare (up to six public-record views).
Credits sit in a simple top-up wallet. No subscription. Mix them across Custom Checks, Premium Checks, comparisons, and follow-up questions on a report.
After the channel verdict: still view the car
Whatever the channel, an online verdict isn’t the final check. Match the V5C and VIN, view in daylight, test drive when the channel allows it, and book an independent inspection when stakes are high. For the full viewing ritual and walk-away rules, including why you can walk even after a Premium “buy” framing, see After the online car check, viewing and walk-away rules (UK).
Ralph can’t replace a mechanical inspection. Records and photos miss hidden damage. The report is evidence for a decision. The car in front of you is still the last word.
FAQ
Why does buying channel change the verdict? The record is the same plate. Auction adds fees, transport and no test drive, so the number that matters is a maximum bid. Dealer purchases sit under the Consumer Rights Act. Private sales carry fewer protections, so more outcomes are hold until documents and claims are proven. Off-market is reg or VIN without a live advert, still with the same Free filter before you spend.
What is a maximum bid on Ralph? The most you can pay once buyer’s fees, transport and likely repairs are counted and the numbers still work. It is a Premium auction output, not a Custom lot read.
Can Ralph extract every UK auction host? No. Public extract on the homepage is Copart and IAA/SYNETIQ. If a link can’t be extracted, enter the registration or VIN and the lot claims manually.
Next step: Paste the listing on useralph.co.uk · see the sample report · compare a shortlist on /compare.
