VehicleScore research
Outstanding finance on used cars
VehicleScore analysed 82,073 vehicles with a known finance result, using the latest paid history report for each registration. The scan covered 88,517 reports on 27 September 2026. In that set, 12,825 vehicles had a finance marker, equivalent to 15.6%. The rate was 42.3% among vehicles aged under three years and 0.9% among vehicles aged 16 or over.
At a glance
- In VehicleScore's dataset, 12,825 of 82,073 vehicles with a known finance result returned a finance marker, equivalent to 15.6% (Wilson 95% interval 15.4%–15.9%).
- The rate was 42.3% among checked vehicles aged 0–2 (945 of 2,236).
- It was 0.9% among checked vehicles aged 16 or over (119 of 12,541).
- Land Rover, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz remained above 15.6% after the rates were adjusted for the age mix of the checked vehicles.
- A simple ranking of models would be misleading, because newer vehicles return a finance marker far more often.
How common was outstanding finance in VehicleScore checks?
In VehicleScore's dataset, 12,825 of 82,073 vehicles with a known finance result returned a finance marker, equivalent to 15.6%.
That denominator is vehicles whose latest paid history report contained a finance result, not every report we scanned and not every car on the road. Reports with no usable finance field are excluded. Where the same registration was checked more than once, only the latest report is counted. The marker means the data provider returned one or more finance records for that vehicle. It is not a remaining balance, and it is not a judgement that the car is unsafe.
Among vehicles with a known finance result in VehicleScore paid history checks, the finance-marker rate was 15.6%. It was not 15.6% of UK cars, and it was not 15.6% of all used cars.
Outstanding finance by vehicle age
Age at the time of the check is the strongest pattern in the data. 42.3% of checked vehicles aged under three years had a finance marker, compared with 0.9% among vehicles aged 16 or over.
Finance-marker rate by age at check
Finance-marker rate by age at check. Wilson 95% intervals. Population: VehicleScore paid history checks with a known finance result.
| Age at check | Vehicles | Finance markers | Rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 years | 2,236 | 945 | 42.3% | 40.2%–44.3% |
| 3–5 years | 9,624 | 3,778 | 39.3% | 38.3%–40.2% |
| 6–8 years | 17,184 | 4,369 | 25.4% | 24.8%–26.1% |
| 9–11 years | 21,666 | 2,815 | 13.0% | 12.6%–13.5% |
| 12–15 years | 18,544 | 789 | 4.3% | 4.0%–4.6% |
| 16+ years | 12,541 | 119 | 0.9% | 0.8%–1.1% |
The age bands cover 81,795 vehicles and 12,815 markers. The other 278 vehicles, including 10 markers, had no usable manufacture year and are in the overall rate only.
The intervals for neighbouring bands do not overlap. The decline is large enough, on these sample sizes, to treat as a real difference in this dataset rather than sampling noise.
Age does not cause a finance marker. Finance agreements are much more relevant to newer vehicles, and a marker recorded at the check is more often still present on a young car than on a car registered in the 2000s. The measured fact is the rate by age. The agreement-length explanation is an interpretation of that pattern, not something this dataset observes directly.
Buying a used car?
These figures show how often finance markers appeared across our dataset. To find out what was returned for the individual vehicle you’re considering, start with its registration.
Finance information is in the paid Hidden History check. The free score identifies the vehicle and shows the MOT and tax record. It does not contain finance agreements.
Manufacture year shows the same shape. Checked vehicles from 2007 had a finance-marker rate of 1.2% (25 of 2,025). Checked vehicles from 2023 had a rate of 41.6% (632 of 1,518).
Which makes returned more finance markers?
The table below covers makes with at least 1,000 vehicles in the known-result set. It is ordered by sample size, not by rate. The rates are crude: they are not adjusted for age, except where the next section says so.
Crude finance-marker rate by make, VehicleScore paid history checks with a known finance result and at least 1,000 vehicles. Not age-adjusted.
| Make | Vehicles | Finance markers | Crude rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford | 8,102 | 1,057 | 13.0% |
| Volkswagen | 7,055 | 1,055 | 15.0% |
| BMW | 6,896 | 1,363 | 19.8% |
| Audi | 5,723 | 1,097 | 19.2% |
| Vauxhall | 5,188 | 540 | 10.4% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 4,647 | 925 | 19.9% |
| Honda | 3,809 | 378 | 9.9% |
| Toyota | 3,604 | 539 | 15.0% |
| Land Rover | 3,445 | 752 | 21.8% |
| Nissan | 2,656 | 418 | 15.7% |
| Peugeot | 2,470 | 276 | 11.2% |
| Mazda | 2,146 | 380 | 17.7% |
| Skoda | 2,087 | 411 | 19.7% |
| Hyundai | 2,055 | 342 | 16.6% |
| Kia | 1,961 | 409 | 20.9% |
| MINI | 1,945 | 272 | 14.0% |
| SEAT | 1,788 | 375 | 21.0% |
| Renault | 1,787 | 226 | 12.6% |
| Citroen | 1,711 | 157 | 9.2% |
| Fiat | 1,617 | 128 | 7.9% |
| Volvo | 1,565 | 268 | 17.1% |
| Jaguar | 1,455 | 246 | 16.9% |
| Porsche | 1,255 | 207 | 16.5% |
| Suzuki | 1,212 | 157 | 13.0% |
Ford, Vauxhall, Honda, Citroen and Fiat sit below the overall 15.6%. Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi sit above it. Kia (20.9%), SEAT (21.0%) and Skoda (19.7%) are also above 15.6% in this crude table. Those three makes were not age-standardised in this release, so their rates should not be read as an age-adjusted make difference.
Does vehicle age explain the premium-car difference?
The raw gap for Land Rover, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz could have been produced by those vehicles being younger. Newer cars in this dataset return a finance marker much more often, so a make with a younger mix would look higher even if it matched other cars of the same age.
We tested that. Each make’s rate was recalculated on the age mix of the checked vehicles, using direct standardisation. A band was left out of a make’s standardised rate only if that make had fewer than 30 vehicles in the band. For these four makes, every band was included. Age was known for 81,795 of the 82,073 vehicles.
Land Rover
Audi
BMW
Mercedes-Benz
| Make | Vehicles | Finance markers | Crude rate | Age-standardised rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All known results | 82,073 | 12,825 | 15.6% | — |
| Land Rover | 3,445 | 752 | 21.8% | 21.1% |
| Audi | 5,723 | 1,097 | 19.2% | 20.2% |
| BMW | 6,896 | 1,363 | 19.8% | 19.6% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 4,647 | 925 | 19.9% | 19.1% |
The premium-make gap survives adjustment for the age mix of the checked vehicles. Land Rover moves from 21.8% to 21.1%. Audi moves from 19.2% to 20.2%, slightly higher after adjustment, so age was masking part of the Audi gap rather than creating it. BMW stays at 19.6% and Mercedes-Benz at 19.1%, against 15.6% overall.
Inside age bands with at least 200 vehicles, Land Rover, BMW and Audi remain above that band’s baseline from ages 3–5 through 12–15. Mercedes-Benz joins them from ages 6–8. At ages 3–5, Mercedes-Benz is 40.3% against a band rate of 39.3%; the confidence intervals overlap, so that one cell is not a clear difference. At age 16 or over, the premium gap disappears: the four makes sit between 0.2% and 1.3%, around the band rate of 0.9%.
Samples aged under three were below 200 vehicles for each of these makes, so that band is not ranked. Audi’s 60.4% on 106 vehicles is the largest figure there, and it is not a ranking.
| Make | Age at check | Vehicles | Markers | Rate | Age-band rate | Separated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land Rover | 3–5 | 362 | 192 | 53.0% | 39.3% | Yes |
| Land Rover | 6–8 | 930 | 296 | 31.8% | 25.4% | Yes |
| Land Rover | 9–11 | 948 | 180 | 19.0% | 13.0% | Yes |
| Land Rover | 12–15 | 735 | 56 | 7.6% | 4.3% | Yes |
| Land Rover | 16+ | 409 | 1 | 0.2% | 0.9% | No |
| Audi | 3–5 | 572 | 284 | 49.7% | 39.3% | Yes |
| Audi | 6–8 | 1,215 | 376 | 30.9% | 25.4% | Yes |
| Audi | 9–11 | 1,581 | 281 | 17.8% | 13.0% | Yes |
| Audi | 12–15 | 1,407 | 82 | 5.8% | 4.3% | Yes |
| Audi | 16+ | 842 | 10 | 1.2% | 0.9% | No |
| BMW | 3–5 | 785 | 366 | 46.6% | 39.3% | Yes |
| BMW | 6–8 | 1,646 | 517 | 31.4% | 25.4% | Yes |
| BMW | 9–11 | 1,761 | 310 | 17.6% | 13.0% | Yes |
| BMW | 12–15 | 1,425 | 91 | 6.4% | 4.3% | Yes |
| BMW | 16+ | 1,129 | 10 | 0.9% | 0.9% | No |
| Mercedes-Benz | 3–5 | 561 | 226 | 40.3% | 39.3% | No |
| Mercedes-Benz | 6–8 | 1,224 | 367 | 30.0% | 25.4% | Yes |
| Mercedes-Benz | 9–11 | 1,190 | 223 | 18.7% | 13.0% | Yes |
| Mercedes-Benz | 12–15 | 903 | 67 | 7.4% | 4.3% | Yes |
| Mercedes-Benz | 16+ | 683 | 9 | 1.3% | 0.9% | No |
This dataset does not record why a finance agreement was taken out. It does not support a claim about BMW buyers, or about any other group of buyers. It shows the marker rate on the vehicles that were checked.
Why there is no “most financed models” league table
An unadjusted model list would put young models at the top. In this dataset the highest crude rates among models with at least 200 vehicles included the Toyota Corolla at 33.1% (84 of 254), the Hyundai Tucson at 32.9% (93 of 283) and the Tesla Model 3 at 31.2% (82 of 263).
Those models are relatively young in the checked sample. They did not remain unusually high once they were compared with other vehicles of the same age, at the 200-vehicle threshold used for model rankings. Publishing them as the models most likely to have outstanding finance would report the age mix of the checks, not a model difference.
The opposite pattern is easier to see once age is held constant. These cells each have at least 200 vehicles, and each sits below the rate for its age band. They are examples, not a shortlist of cars to buy.
Models below the finance-marker rate of their own age band. Not a recommendation.
| Model | Age at check | Vehicles | Markers | Rate | Age-band rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vauxhall Corsa | 6–8 | 299 | 41 | 13.7% | 25.4% |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 9–11 | 624 | 35 | 5.6% | 13.0% |
| Ford Fiesta | 6–8 | 507 | 107 | 21.1% | 25.4% |
| Ford Fiesta | 9–11 | 796 | 66 | 8.3% | 13.0% |
| Ford Fiesta | 12–15 | 836 | 19 | 2.3% | 4.3% |
A Vauxhall Corsa aged 6–8 had a finance-marker rate of 13.7% (41 of 299), against 25.4% for all checked vehicles in that age band. A Ford Fiesta aged 9–11 had a rate of 8.3% (66 of 796), against 13.0% for that band. A lower rate here means fewer recorded finance markers among the cars we checked. It does not mean the car has a cleaner history in any other respect.
13,012 vehicles with a known finance result did not resolve to a model in our naming list. Model comparisons cover the resolved remainder, and only cells with at least 200 vehicles.
What outstanding finance means when buying a used car
A finance marker on a history check means a finance record was returned for that vehicle. On the agreements this usually refers to, the lender still has an interest in the car. Citizens Advice says a history check can show whether the current owner still owes money on the car, and that on a hire purchase agreement you do not own the car until the last payment is made. Citizens Advice also says a hire purchase car can be repossessed if the payments are not kept up.
Citizens Advice: Buying a used car
A marker is not proof that a private seller is acting improperly, and it is not proof that the car is a bad buy. Dealer stocking finance can be settled as part of a sale. Consumer hire purchase and PCP are different. This page is not legal advice. If a check returns a finance record, ask for written confirmation from the lender that the agreement will be settled before money changes hands. Paying the seller does not, by itself, remove the lender’s interest.
The VehicleScore history check does not show the remaining balance. It shows that a record exists, and the agreement fields the provider returned for that vehicle.
How to check whether a car has outstanding finance
The free VehicleScore lookup identifies the vehicle and shows the score, MOT and tax information. It does not list finance agreements. Those records are in the paid Hidden History check, together with stolen markers, insurance write-off records and salvage auction records.
- Enter the registration and confirm the vehicle is the one being sold.
- Open the Hidden History check for that registration.
- Read the finance section. A clear result means no finance record was returned. A marker means a record was returned.
- If a record is returned, get the settlement position from the lender or a written confirmation from the seller before you pay.
- Use the same report for write-off category and stolen markers. A clear finance result does not clear those.
The practical steps for a finance check are also set out on the outstanding finance check page. A free registration check is the right first step if you only need to confirm the make, model and registration.
Check a car for outstanding finance
Enter the registration to identify the vehicle, then unlock its Hidden History to check for outstanding finance, write-offs, stolen markers and other history.
Methodology
This analysis uses paid vehicle history checks held by VehicleScore. The snapshot was taken on 27 September 2026. The job version is 2026-09-27.1. The scan covered 88,517 reports.
Each registration contributes once, using the latest report. A vehicle is included only where that report contained a known finance result. The finance denominator is 82,073 vehicles. 12,825 of them returned a finance marker. The rate is vehicles with a finance marker divided by vehicles with a known result.
Age is the vehicle’s age when it was checked, from the manufacture year on the report to the year of the check. Bands are 0–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–11, 12–15 and 16 or over. Ranked model comparisons require at least 200 vehicles. Intervals are Wilson 95% intervals. “Separated” means two intervals do not overlap. That is a conservative screen, not a p-value.
Because newer vehicles are much more likely to return a finance marker, a simple comparison between makes can be misleading. We therefore standardised the Land Rover, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz rates to the age distribution of the vehicles in our dataset. Bands with fewer than 30 vehicles for a make are left out of that make’s standardised rate. None of those four makes lost a band on that rule.
No registrations, VINs, lender names, agreement numbers or telephone numbers are published. VehicleScore users are not a random sample of the UK vehicle fleet. The results describe vehicles checked through VehicleScore.