Car

Car is a tidy home for your vehicle's paperwork. Add your car and Cuppi keeps track of its MOT, road tax and insurance dates, reminds you before they run out, shows your MOT history, and lets you log running costs and warranties.

Car is for the household Owner and Adults. It's hidden from Child accounts.

To get started, open Car from the Apps page and tap Add a car.

Adding your car only takes a minute.

1. Open Car from the Apps page and tap Add a car.
2. Enter your registration and tap Look up. Cuppi finds the make, model and MOT details for you.
3. Check it's the right vehicle and tap This is my car. Nothing is saved until you do. If it isn't yours, tap This is not my car.
4. Add a nickname (for example, Dad's van) and a photo if you like, then tap Add car.

Prefer to do it yourself? Tap Add it myself and enter the make, model, colour, fuel and MOT date by hand.

Good to know: households on the Free tier can add 1 car, and Cuppi Pro allows up to 5.

Don't worry, you can still add your car. If the lookup finds nothing, or the vehicle service is briefly unavailable, tap Add it myself and enter the details by hand, including the MOT date if you know it.

A car added by hand works just like any other, apart from the MOT history, which comes from the official lookup.

A few things to check first:

• Look for typos in the registration.
• A brand-new car may not have an MOT record yet. Its first MOT is usually due after three years.
• Try again a little later if the service was unavailable.

When you add a car by registration, Cuppi gets the MOT expiry date from DVSA, the official MOT records.

You can change it at any time. Tap Edit on the car's page (or tap the MOT ring) and update the date. If you've entered a date yourself, Cuppi will ask before replacing it with one from DVSA.

If you added your car by hand, the date is simply whatever you typed in, so it's worth keeping up to date.

Cuppi sends a notification at 8am (UK time) at three moments:

• 30 days before your MOT runs out
• 7 days before
• On the day itself

If you add a car close to its MOT date, you'll still get the next reminder the following morning.

Reminders go to the household Owner and Adults. They come from our servers, so you need an internet connection to receive them. You can see the dates they're based on in Car > Reminders.

Not wanting them? See "How do I turn Car reminders off?".

On your car's page you'll see three rings: MOT, Tax and Insurance. A grey ring that says Set up doesn't have a date yet.

1. Tap the Tax or Insurance ring.
2. Choose the date (when tax is due, or when your insurance renews).
3. If you like, add the provider, the cost and how it's paid.
4. Tap Save.

You'll then get the same reminders as for the MOT: 30 days before, 7 days before and on the day, at 8am. The cost is only shown to adults in the household.

To clear a date, open it and tap Remove.

Please note: Cuppi can't look up tax or insurance for you, so these dates are only as accurate as what you enter.

Open your car's page and tap MOT history. Past tests are listed with the result, mileage and expiry date, and each one shows any advisories and defects recorded.

Once you've viewed the history it's saved on your phone, so you can read it without a signal. Cuppi quietly refreshes it when it's about a week old, and you can pull down to refresh whenever you like.

A brand-new car has no history until its first MOT.

Under Car upkeep on your car's page you'll find rows for fuel (or charging, for an electric car), service, parking and crossings, penalties, and accessories and other.

1. Tap the + beside the row you want.
2. Enter the amount and date.
3. For fuel or charging, add the litres or kWh if you'd like Cuppi to work out the price per litre or kWh.
4. Add a note if you like, then tap Save.

Tap a row to see its history, where you can edit or delete entries. Running costs are for Owners and Adults only.

Free allowance per car:

• Fuel or charging: 2 a month
• Service: 1 a year
• Parking and crossings: 2 a month
• Penalties: 1 a year
• Accessories and other: 2 a month

With Cuppi Pro there's no monthly or yearly limit. Your dates, MOT history and car details are free either way.

Yes. On your car's page tap Warranties, then add one, such as "Manufacturer warranty". You can include the provider, a start date, an expiry date and a note. Both dates are optional, because some warranties have no end date.

The Free tier keeps 1 warranty for each car, and Cuppi Pro keeps up to 10.

Warranty reminders aren't available yet.

The Free tier allows 1 car for your household, and Cuppi Pro allows up to 5.

If you're at your limit when you add a car, Cuppi will show you the Pro options.

Tracking your MOT, tax and insurance dates, MOT history and car details is free for every car. Only running costs and warranties have Free allowances.

Car is for the household Owner and Adults. They can add, edit and delete cars, and see costs and warranties.

Child accounts can't see Car at all. It isn't shown on their Apps page, which keeps tax, insurance and spending details private.

Car reminders are only sent to Owners and Adults, and each person can switch their own off.

1. Tap your profile picture in the bottom menu bar (the Settings tab).
2. Tap Notifications & Email.
3. In the Car section, switch off Car reminders.

This covers MOT, tax and insurance reminders, and only affects your own phone. Other adults in your household keep theirs.

Yes. If the lookup says your car is electric, or you choose Electric under Fuel when adding or editing it, its number plate turns green and the fuel row becomes Charging spend, where you log kWh instead of litres.

Hybrids use the usual fuel row. When you log a cost for one, you can choose between Fuel and Charging.

1. Open the car and tap Edit.
2. Tap Remove car and confirm.

Removing a car also removes its photo, costs, warranties and reminders for everyone in the household. You can add it again at any time, but the costs and warranties can't be brought back.