Spot fraudulent MOTs before you buy a used car. Built into the free AI Pocket Mechanic app — uses real DVSA data, finds patterns DVSA's own investigators look for.
Mileage that drops, stagnates for years, or jumps impossibly — classic markers of clocking or fraudulent records.
Genuine MOTs almost always find at least minor wear. Years of perfect tests on an older car are statistically improbable.
All MOTs at one station, never any defects, year after year? That's the signature of a tame tester.
A 'pass' at a different station within 2 hours of a fail is virtually impossible to do legitimately.
We cross-reference against the official DVSA list of stations subject to disciplinary action.
Extra scrutiny when you tell us you're considering buying — better safe than £15,000 sorry.
About to buy a £10,000 second-hand car? Run the reg through Ghost MOT Checker first. A 60-second scan can save you from a fraudulent listing — or give you peace of mind before you transfer the money.
Vetting trade stock before you bid at auction? Our tool flags risky histories before you commit. Plus: honest VTSs can earn the "Verified Honest" badge by maintaining consistently low risk scores across the cars they've tested.
A ghost MOT is when a tester records a 'pass' on the DVSA system without actually inspecting the car. It's a known UK problem — DVSA disciplined hundreds of testers and stations in recent years. Buyers of used cars are most at risk, because a passed MOT can hide major safety defects.
Look for patterns: zero advisories across many years (genuine MOTs almost always find at least minor wear), mileage that doesn't add up between tests, or a 'pass' at a different station within hours of a fail elsewhere. Our free checker analyses all of these signals automatically.
Yes — it's part of the free AI Pocket Mechanic app. It uses the official DVSA MOT History API, so the underlying data is identical to gov.uk's own MOT checker. We just add the pattern analysis on top.
Don't panic — a high risk score doesn't prove fraud, it just flags patterns worth investigating. Get an independent pre-purchase inspection (RAC/AA, around £200) before buying. We strongly recommend never relying on the MOT alone for a major used-car purchase.
Yes — many UK garages use it to vet stock they're buying at auction. We also offer a 'Verified Honest VTS' badge for test stations whose vehicles consistently score low risk across many checks.
100% from the DVSA MOT History API — the official UK government dataset. No private or scraped data. The risk algorithm is our own, based on patterns DVSA's own investigators look for.
Free, instant, official DVSA data. Spend 60 seconds before you spend £10,000.
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