Trader Media Group, the owner of Auto Trader magazine, is to launch a vehicle checking system to allow dealers and buyers to investigate a car’s history.

The vehicle provenance system will allow motor companies and potential buyers to check if a vehicle has been stolen, has finance owed on it or has been involved in a major accident.

The database will draw on information from more than 40 different data systems, including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Association of British Insurers and the Police National Computer, when it is launched by Trader Media Group’s Trader Data Systems (TDS) division later this year.

IT consultancy Detica was awarded a multimillion-pound contract to build the checking system, which runs on an Oracle database and Ab Initio software. The system took nine months to develop.

‘TDS will provide information for the automotive industry, from car dealers that want to carry out vehicle checks through to auctioneers, finance houses that want to reduce their risk and, ultimately, the general public,’ said Jackie Hutchison, IT director at TDS.

The Detica system will be accessible via a web-based Java interface and will also allow interested parties to verify the chassis vehicle identification number, to ensure that the vehicle has not been illegally welded together from different parts.

Potential buyers and businesses will also be able to check mileage and assess if a car has been tampered with.

TDS also has plans to make the vehicle provenance service available via telephone.

‘It will allow people to check that vehicle information is correct, by pulling together a lot of information from many disparate sources,’ she said.

Data sources from the police and other third parties will be updated on a daily basis, while DVLA information will be refreshed each month.

TDS also aims to offer the service to Auto Trader readers and will compete against systems developed by other companies, including Experian.

What do you think? Email us at:   feedback@computing.co.uk