What a mileage check is for
Mileage affects price, wear and how you judge a seller’s story. A mileage check compares the odometer on the car with mileages recorded at MOT tests. That is also the practical way to look for a clocked car — you do not need a separate clocking URL.
MOT mileage history on VehicleScore
After you enter a registration, the free VehicleScore dashboard plots MOT odometer readings over time. You can see the last recorded mileage, the year-by-year trend, and alerts when a later reading is lower than an earlier one.
That chart is the useful tool on this page: the same MOT history the score dashboard already builds, not a second mileage product.
Mileage discrepancies and clocking
Patterns that should slow you down:
- A later MOT mileage lower than an earlier one
- A dashboard reading well below the last MOT
- Unusually low mileage for the car’s age without a matching story
- Service invoices that do not line up with MOT mileages
Clocking is illegal. A discrepancy is a reason to investigate, not an automatic conviction. Some drops are unit errors (miles vs kilometres) or bad MOT entries — still treat them as unresolved until explained.
Suspicious patterns vs missing history
Not every gap is clocking:
- Digital MOT records typically run from 2005
- Cars can be SORN, exported, or unused for a period
- A missed MOT leaves a hole in the chart
- Imported cars may have little UK mileage history
Missing history means you have less evidence, not that the mileage is genuine. Combine the chart with a full vehicle history check if you are close to buying.
What VehicleScore checks
- Free: MOT mileage timeline and rollback-style alerts on that chart
- Free: VehicleScore out of 999, MOT result history, tax or SORN
- Paid Hidden History: extra mileage notes where recorded, plus finance, stolen, write-off and salvage records
We cannot see every odometer change between MOTs. A skilled clocking between tests can still leave a plausible-looking line.
If the mileage looks wrong
- Compare the dashboard with the latest MOT reading on the report.
- Ask the seller for service invoices with mileages.
- Be cautious if the story is “motorway miles” but MOT gaps or drops remain unexplained.
- Check write-off and finance as well — clocking sometimes sits alongside other hidden history.
- Walk away if the numbers still do not add up.
Enter a registration to open the free MOT mileage timeline. Hidden History is optional from the score dashboard.