Provenance explained
What a vehicle check covers, the difference between AutoCheck and MotorCheck, and how to read the warnings.
A provenance check tells you whether a vehicle carries anything that should change a decision: an outstanding finance agreement, an insurance write-off, a stolen marker, and so on. It is the due-diligence layer behind a valuation.
AutoCheck and MotorCheck
Companion offers provenance through one of two providers:
- AutoCheck, sourced from Experian.
- MotorCheck.
A branch has one or the other, or neither, never both. They are alternative products, and which one you have is set by your branch's contract. They check the same kinds of things and present them slightly differently, so the rest of this page describes the shared model.
Overall status
Every check resolves to a single headline status, so you can read the outcome at a glance before opening the detail:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Clear | Nothing of concern was found. |
| Caution | Something is worth knowing, but it is not necessarily a problem. |
| Warning | Something significant was found that should change your decision. |
Status is shown with a label and an icon, not by colour alone, so it reads the same to everyone.
Occasionally a check cannot complete, for example if the provider is briefly unavailable. When that happens it is marked as failed rather than clear; run it again, and contact support if it persists.
What raises a flag
The detail behind the status is a set of flags. Warnings are the markers that most often stop a deal or change a settlement:
- Insurance write-off
- Stolen marker
- Outstanding finance
- Scrapped, or marked for export
- High-risk or at-risk markers
Cautions are worth noting but rarely decisive on their own:
- Plate or colour changes
- Imported, or a recorded inspection
- Mileage discrepancies
- A high number of previous keepers, or unusually frequent recent searches
Exactly how each marker is categorised, and the wording on screen, depends on whether your branch uses AutoCheck or MotorCheck. Running a check walks through reading a real result.
Optional extras
Depending on your branch, a check can carry add-ons:
- A valuation alongside the check, so you get provenance and a figure in one step.
- A data guarantee, which adds a level of cover to the result.
- Mileage data, a fuller record of readings over the vehicle's life.