HPI stands for Hire Purchase Inspection and can be carried out by anyone on any vehicle. The report will tell you if there is any outstanding finance left on the vehicle which failing to notice this before you buy, can be disastrous. This report can be done for a fee (or some places offer you a basic check for free) and it will show you if the car has any outstanding finance, the number of owners it has had, if the car has been written off or scrapped at any time, the cars identification marks such as VIN and engine number and sometimes service / mileage history. It will also show you if the car has had a number plate change and what the previous plate or plates were.
Every dealer should do a HPI check on a car and if you are going to be buying a car privately then it is strongly recommended that you pay for a HPI check before any money exchanges hands. IF there is outstanding finance on the vehicle, walk away, as if the buyer states they are going to clear it off with the money you pay and they don’t, you can have the car taken off you and find it very hard to get your money back.