About TyreKicker

TyreKicker looks through used car adverts for you and sends you only the cars worth going to see.

Who runs it

We are trading as TyreKicker (the used car search at tyrekicker.uk), based in Stevenage, United Kingdom. Questions, problems or ideas: email mail at tyrekicker dot uk, or use Ideas or bugs? once you've signed in. A real person reads every message.

What we do

You describe the car you want in your own words. We search online car ads near you (and Facebook Marketplace, or bigger towns a train ride away, if you choose), check the MOT histories of the cars on our shortlist, read the most promising adverts in full and email you a link to a short report with only the good ones. See an example report.

What we check

• MOT history from the DVSA: fails, dangerous defects, structural rust, mileage that goes backwards and time without an MOT.
• The whole advert, to the last line, where warning signs often hide.
• The photos, for damage, rust, warning lights and wear.
• Known weak spots of the engine and gearbox, and big jobs coming up.
• The price, against similar cars for sale, where there are enough of them.
• Write-offs: for cars from car ad sites, we drop any that the site's vehicle check flags as written off, stolen, scrapped or exported.
• The seller, for signs of a trader posing as a private seller, or of a scam, like a deposit request or stock photos.
• A second opinion: a second, sceptical review that looks for reasons to say no.

The full list is under "What we check before a car makes your report" on the front page.

What we can't promise

• Reports are a head start, not a guarantee. Adverts can be wrong or out of date, and we can miss things.
• We never see the car. Always see it in person and check the V5C logbook matches the seller and the car before you pay.
• Facebook adverts don't come with the write-off check that car ad sites have, so run a history check yourself before you buy one.
• Sometimes nothing near you is good enough. Then your report says so, and you get the search back (once for each search, up to twice a day).
• TyreKicker is independent: it isn't connected to or endorsed by any car ad site, Facebook or the DVSA.

How we make money

You pay for your searches: £2.99 a search, 3 for £7.85 or 5 for £11.99, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. A search that fails on our side goes back on your account, and so does one that finds no cars we'd call good (once for each search, up to twice a day, see our terms).

That's all. There are no adverts on TyreKicker, we never sell your details, and no seller, dealer or car ad site pays us: the links in your report go straight to the advert. We do advertise TyreKicker on Facebook and Instagram, so a few of our pages run Meta's pixel to see which of those ads bring people who make an account, and on Reddit, where our server tells Reddit when one of its ads brings someone who makes an account. More on our privacy page.