Check Vehicle History for Minicab Use

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Miser_maz
Miser_maz Posts: 250 Forumite
in Motoring
I'm looking to buy a car and saw one at a good price, problem is I suspect it might have been used as a Private Hire Taxi, though current owner is unaware, but its had one other previous owner too.

Is there any way to check if a car's been registered as a private hire at some stage?

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  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    MOT history is going to be the biggest clue.

    Why do you suspect it might have been a cab, and what is it/how old/relative price?
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    Might not have been private hire, could have been a rental.

    Why are you worried? As long as it is in the condition you'd expect, comes with decent service history and signs its been well maintained and runs fine it doesn't matter.
  • Miser_maz
    Miser_maz Posts: 250 Forumite
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    Tarambor wrote: »
    Might not have been private hire, could have been a rental.

    Why are you worried? As long as it is in the condition you'd expect, comes with decent service history and signs its been well maintained and runs fine it doesn't matter.

    Basically in my opinion a car that's been used as a private hire will have endured a much higher level of wear. Especially as street driving has a much higher impact on the engine and transmission of a vehicle, which the mere amount of mileage done by the car won't indicate. But also in other aspects of general wear and tear too, including electrical components such as window motors, indicator switches, flasher units, as well as seat mechanisms, seat belt buckles etc etc.

    Therefore there's a greater chance a car which has been used as a private hire will have had its lifespan prematurely reduced, and you're more likely to experience problems in the future.
  • ratrace
    ratrace Posts: 1,009 Forumite
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    if you are not sure and there is no way of finding out, then just look for another car im sure there are plenty out there with the same make and model
    “People are caught up in an egotistic artificial rat race to display a false image to society. We want the biggest house, fanciest car, and we don't mind paying the sky high mortgage to put up that show. We sacrifice our biggest assets our health and time, We feel happy when we see people look up to us and see how successful we are”

    Rat Race
  • JohnM5206
    JohnM5206 Posts: 136 Forumite
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    I would suggest that the mileage would be a good place to start: if it has recorded between 35k and 50k per year you might be safe to say PHC? However, if the engine is never cold and lots of medium distance running then probably not a problem. If the internal wear and tear is excessive for a lowish mileage then short local trips and that would be worth passing.
  • Miser_maz
    Miser_maz Posts: 250 Forumite
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    JohnM5206 wrote: »
    I would suggest that the mileage would be a good place to start: if it has recorded between 35k and 50k per year you might be safe to say PHC? However, if the engine is never cold and lots of medium distance running then probably not a problem. If the internal wear and tear is excessive for a lowish mileage then short local trips and that would be worth passing.

    True, as Adrienc also mentioned mileage and MOT history are good indicators. The thing is its a Toyota Prius and we all know they are very popular as taxis. they're also not that cheap so to see one below average price seemed a bit odd. The first service wasn't done till 25k and then its been fairly regular. So I thought PHC registration might be flagged up in the HPI check or something.
  • arcon5
    arcon5 Posts: 14,099 Forumite
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    Most of what you've listed is either trivial or likely to last the life of the car irrespective.

    If the engine sounds as it should, services regularly and responds in the right way imo it's a non issue. A ragged about heavily worn engine can be spotted a mile off
  • Lucky_Duck_2
    Lucky_Duck_2 Posts: 271 Forumite
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    When I traded in m last cars, be of the questions asked was whether it had ever been used for private hire and I doubt that was so they would increase the amount they were offering.

    I wonder if it is possible to check the reg number with the local authority responsible of licensing them?
  • debtdebt
    debtdebt Posts: 949 Forumite
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    Just buy new if you're worried about the car's history.
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 14,688 Forumite
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    You'll never find out unless you can see marks from stickers or radio fitting. There's no register of private hire cars.
    Plenty of genuine private cars will be in worse condition, like anything my mum drives to work.

    Unless it's got huge initial mileage it probably hasn't been, and if it's in good condition for a good price who really cares?
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