Does the NCT show service history?

The odometer reading is recorded at test, but the NCT is not a mileage-verification service and the test history is held by the RSA, not by us. Our report shows the odometer reading recorded at each main-dealer service visit, which is a separate trail.

No. We provide manufacturer and main-dealer service records only. We would rather tell you that plainly than sell you a report that turns out not to contain what you expected.

They answer different questions and a careful buyer wants both. The NCT tells you the car was roadworthy at its last test; the service history tells you whether it has been maintained to the manufacturer's schedule, which is what predicts the next few years of bills.

It is a reason to check rather than to walk away. The service book being missing does not mean the servicing did not happen — if it was done at franchised dealers the record is still in the manufacturer's system, retrievable by VIN.

No. We return official manufacturer and main-dealer service records — the maintenance history. The NCT is a separate roadworthiness test held by the RSA and is not part of the report. Anyone offering you an Irish service history that is really just test history is selling you something different.

It helps. Manufacturer service records are stored against the VIN, not the number plate, so a car built and serviced in the UK keeps its dealer history after it is imported, VRT is paid and it goes onto Irish plates. That history is often the fullest record on the car.

Often, if it is a European make. A Volkswagen, Audi, BMW or Porsche sold new in Japan has a normal 17-character VIN, and Japanese main dealers log its services in the same manufacturer system we search, so its Japanese visits can come back with the date, the odometer reading in km and the work done. Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other Japanese-brand cars built for Japan carry a short Japanese chassis number instead of a VIN, and we can't check them.

€12.99. Your card is authorised at checkout but only charged if we actually find service records for the vehicle. If nothing is on file, the authorisation is released and you pay nothing.

The VIN is a 17-character code. It is printed in field E of the Vehicle Registration Certificate (the Irish logbook), stamped at the base of the windscreen on the driver's side, and shown on a plate inside the driver's door frame. On a UK import it will also be on the V5C the seller may still hold. A Japanese-brand car built for Japan has a shorter Japanese chassis number instead, such as ZVW30-1234567.

Cars serviced at franchised main dealers, where the visit was logged into the manufacturer's central system. Work done at an independent garage is not in the manufacturer's system and will not appear. Digital coverage is strong from roughly 2012 onwards and thins out on older cars.