Photograph it before you pay for it.

You have never bought a car. The seller has sold several. This is the walk around that closes the gap: ten stops, the exact photos to take at each one, and the few facts only you can collect. Send them from the driveway and a vision model reads every frame against this car at thismileage, then grades it: pay, push the price, or walk.

Start the walk around What to bring

04 · Rust

Example verdict · step 04

Structural rust under fresh underseal

Near-side jacking point deformed; the coating over it is newer than the coating around it. Walk.

Steps: 10
Photos: 40
Videos: 5
Minutes: ~74

Before you leave the house

Most bad buys are decided before anyone looks at the car: arriving unprepared, in the dark, to an engine that has already been warmed up.

Take with you

A torch, not just the phone light
You need light coming from the side to read rust and paint. The phone’s own flash flattens everything it lights.
An old cloth and a pair of gloves
You will be kneeling on gravel and putting a hand inside wheel arches. Buyers who stay clean don’t look.
A phone at full charge
Forty photos and five videos, most of them with the flash on, in the cold.
A friend, if one is free
Someone to film the cluster while you drive, and to be the reason you don’t get rushed.
Twenty pounds in cash
Not a deposit. Enough for a bus home if you decide to walk, so leaving never feels expensive.

Say on the phone first

“Please don’t start or move it before I arrive.”
A cold start is the most informative thirty seconds of the viewing, and it happens once.
“Can you have the V5C and the service history out?”
A seller who finds reasons not to has already shown you the answer.
“Is it parked somewhere I can get all the way round it?”
A car tight against a wall or nose-in to a hedge cannot be photographed, which is sometimes the point.

If the car is warm when you arrive, you have lost step 09. That is a reason to come back, not a reason to carry on and hope.

Three answers, and only three

Every step below ends with the kind of reply it produces. A vision model reads your photographs and returns one of these three words, worst finding first. The verdicts printed on this page are written as examples — no car on this page exists, and nothing here is a mechanical inspection.

Pass
Nothing in your photos contradicts the story you were told. We say what we checked and what we could not see from the shots you sent.
Watch
Real, named, and priceable. The part, the likely cost band, and the sentence to say to the seller about it.
Walk
Structural rust, flood evidence, welded repair, or an identity that doesn’t hold together. No discount makes these a good buy.

The walk around

Do these in order. The order matters: the engine must still be cold at step 09, and the drive at step 10 only means something once you know what you are listening for.

01 · Paperwork

You are here

4 shots · 3 min

Step 01104 shots · 3 min

The car’s identity, before the car

A clean car with dirty paperwork is the most expensive mistake on this list. Two minutes here decides whether the next hour is worth spending.

Where to look, in this order

Registration document: The keeper’s name and address must match the person standing in front of you, and the address must match where you are standing. A seller who is 'selling it for a friend' is a different transaction.
VIN in three places: Windscreen base, door shut or slam panel, and the document. All three must read the same. A rivet that looks newer than the ones beside it, or a plate sitting on fresh sealant, ends the viewing.
Odometer against history: Read the mileage, then read the recorded mileages on the service and test history. The line should only ever go up, in believable steps.
Number of keys: A missing second key is a real cost and a bargaining chip — ask to see the spare now, not later, and let the price reflect it.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

01.1Registration document, keeper pageFlat on the bonnet, phone directly above, no angle. Keeper name, address and VIN all legible in one frame.
01.2Odometer at key-onIgnition on, engine off, so the display is lit. Get the trip and the total in the same shot.
01.3VIN at the windscreen baseShoot through the glass from outside, torch on, phone close. Then the same for the door shut plate.
01.4Both keys togetherIn your palm, so we can see they are a matched pair and not a cut blank.

Send these with the photos

Registration or plate number
Full VIN as printed on the document
Odometer reading, exactly as displayed
Asking price and how long it has been advertised
Private seller or trade

Example of what comes backWalk · No price fixes this

Identity does not hold together

The VIN on your door-shut photo differs from the document in one character, and the plate is seated on sealant that is cleaner than the panel around it. That is either a clerical error on a document that should be reissued before any sale, or it is not one car.

Your moveLeave. Do not pay a deposit to hold it while this is checked.

Step 02104 shots · 6 min

Stand back. Then read the gaps

A repaired car is usually straight to the eye and wrong to the tape. Panel gaps are the cheapest structural evidence you can collect, and nobody re-gaps a car perfectly in a bodyshop on a budget.

Where to look, in this order

The whole car from each corner: Crouch to headlight height, ten paces back. Look along the flanks for a flank that waves, a door line that steps, or one wheel sitting deeper in its arch than its opposite.
Every shut line: Bonnet to wing, door to door, boot to quarter. You want 4–6 mm, even end to end. A gap that tapers from 3 mm to 8 mm along one door is the tell.
Left against right: Gaps are symmetrical from the factory. Compare the near-side door gap to the off-side one in the same photo pair; the difference matters more than the number.
Bonnet and boot alignment: Open and close both. They should drop onto their catches without lifting or persuading, and sit flush with the wings at the corners.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

02.1Four corner shots at 45°Headlight height, same distance each time, car filling the frame diagonally. Shoot all four before you move on.
02.2Each door shut line, closePhone flat against the panel, lens looking along the seam, not across it. Put a finger at the seam for scale.
02.3Bonnet to wing, both sidesFrom directly above the corner of the bonnet, both sides in the same light.
02.4Boot lid to quarter panelsBoot closed, shot from behind at waist height, both sides in one frame if you can.

Send these with the photos

Which gaps looked uneven to you, in your own words
Whether any door needed lifting to close
Whether the car has been in a recorded accident, as stated by the seller

Try it · panel gap · drawn, not measured

Drag the caliper along the shut line

6.3 mmOut of tolerance

Opens from 3.2 mm at the top to 8.1 mm at the sill. The number alone looks survivable; the taper is the evidence.

Example of what comes backWatch · Real, and priceable

Near-side front has been off the car

The front door gap opens from roughly 4 mm at the top to 8 mm at the sill, and the wing-to-bonnet shut does not mirror the other side. The shut faces are painted, so this is a repair rather than a fresh fit.

Your movePriceable. Ask what was replaced, get it in writing on the receipt, and price the car as a repaired example.

Step 03104 shots · 6 min

Paint texture, not paint colour

Colour can be matched. Texture almost never is. Original paint was baked onto bare metal in a factory; a respray was sprayed over a panel in a booth, and the surface tells you which is which.

Where to look, in this order

The reflection, at a raking angle: Get your eye almost along the panel with light behind the car. Factory paint reflects a long clean line. A respray shows orange peel — a fine dimpled texture like the skin of the fruit — and the reflection breaks up.
Edges and rubbers: Overspray on window rubbers, door seals, wheel-arch liners and under the fuel flap is the fastest proof of a repaint. So is a masking line hiding in a door shut.
Metallic in direct sun: Metallic and pearl respray shows as a sheen that shifts at a different angle to the next panel. Walk the length of the car with the sun on it and watch for the panel that changes last.
Inside the fuel flap and door shuts: This is the original colour. Compare it to the outside of the same panel.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

03.1Raking-light pass along both flanksStand at the rear corner, phone almost flat against the body, shoot forward along the side so the light streaks down the panels.
03.2Each pillar and door rubber, closeOpen the door, shoot the rubber and the painted shut face together, torch on.
03.3Inside the fuel flapFlap open, phone close enough that the painted lip fills half the frame.
03.4Roof from above, if you can reachPhone held high, shooting down the roof towards the screen. Roof repaints are common and rarely mentioned.

Send these with the photos

The exact colour name, if it is on the document
Any panel the seller says has been painted
Whether the car lives outdoors or in a garage

Example of what comes backWatch · Real, and priceable

Two panels repainted, one of them badly

Off-side rear quarter and the boot lid both show orange peel against the smooth reflection on the rear door, and there is overspray on the lower edge of the rear screen rubber. The colour match is good; the texture is not.

Your moveNot structural on this evidence, but it is cosmetic work the advert did not mention. Treat it as a repaired car for price.

Step 04105 shots · 10 min

Rust in the places that matter

Flaking rust on an arch lip is a cosmetic job. Rust inside a sill, a jacking point or a spring perch is the one that fails a test, costs more than the car, and is deliberately covered. Both look like rust. Only one should stop you.

Where to look, in this order

Sills, under the plastic covers: Lift or look behind any plastic sill trim. Trapped damp sits there for years. Press with a thumb through a cloth: sound steel is hard, rotten steel gives.
Jacking points: Four per car, and the first thing to rot. A crushed or crumbling jacking point means nobody can lift the car safely, and a welded repair here is usually hiding worse.
Inner arch lips, front and rear: Reach inside the arch behind the liner. Rust starts on the inner lip and the outer paint is the last thing to go.
Boot floor and spare well: Lift the carpet and the spare. Water pooling in the well, rust rings around the drain plugs, or a damp smell with no visible water means a leaking seam or screen.
Rear spring perches and subframe mounts: Look up behind each rear wheel with a torch. A flaky perch is an MOT failure waiting; a mount with layered crust is structural.
Fresh underseal: Thick black paint sprayed over the underside of a car being sold is not maintenance. Rust hidden under new underseal is still rust, and now you cannot photograph it.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

04.1All four jacking pointsKneel at each one, torch held low and to the side so the light rakes across the metal, phone right in.
04.2Both sills, full lengthPhone on the ground, lens up and along the sill, torch on. One shot per side, plus a close shot of anything that looks darker.
04.3Inside each arch lipHand and phone behind the liner, flash on. It will look terrible; that is fine, we only need the metal.
04.4Boot floor with mat and spare outMat up, spare out, torch into the well. Get the drain plugs and the seams in frame.
04.5Behind each rear wheel, looking upPhone flat on the floor pointing up at the spring perch. Four attempts; keep the sharpest one.

Send these with the photos

Where the car has lived — coastal, salted roads, outdoors
Anything the seller describes as ‘just surface rust’
Whether the underside has been treated, and when

Example of what comes backWalk · No price fixes this

Structural rust under fresh underseal

The near-side rear jacking point is deformed and the perch above it has layered scale rather than surface bloom. The underseal over both is newer than the surrounding coating, so it went on after the rot, not before it.

Your moveWalk. Welding here is open-ended work and this one has already been hidden once.

Step 05104 shots · 6 min

Tyres tell you about the car’s geometry

Tyres are the only part of the car that records how it has been driven and whether it is straight. Four odd brands with uneven inner wear is not a tyre problem; it is a suspension and alignment problem wearing tyres out.

Where to look, in this order

Tread depth across each tyre: Check the inner edge, the middle and the outer edge separately. Even wear is fine. A worn inner edge on one side is alignment or a tired ball joint or arm bush.
DOT date code: Four digits on the sidewall: week and year. Rubber over six years old is hard regardless of tread, and a car with three different years on it has had three separate incidents.
Brand mix and sizes: Mismatched pairs across an axle is a cost-cutting tell. Mismatched sizes is a safety one.
Discs, through the spokes: A deep lip at the outer edge means a thin disc. Bright scoring, blueing, or a rusty band where the pad does not touch means a sticking caliper.
Pad thickness: Look through the spokes at the pad backing. Less than about 3 mm of friction material is an immediate job.
Wheel damage: Kerbed rims are cosmetic. A buckled rim or a bent arm behind it is not.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

05.1Each tyre face-on, all fourSquarely in front of the tyre, close enough to see inner, middle and outer tread in one frame.
05.2DOT code on each sidewallFind the four-digit block, phone close, torch on. You may need to turn the wheel to reach the fronts.
05.3Through the spokes at each front discLens between the spokes, torch through from the other side if you can. Get the outer edge of the disc in frame.
05.4Each rim edgeLow and along the rim so damage shows as a silhouette.

Send these with the photos

Tyre size and brand on each corner
DOT codes you could read
Whether the steering pulls or the wheel sits off-centre on a straight road

Example of what comes backWatch · Real, and priceable

Geometry is out, and the tyres have paid for it

Both front tyres are worn to the inner third with legal tread elsewhere, and the codes show they were fitted eleven months apart. The near-side disc has a pronounced lip. This is an alignment and front-arm inspection, plus two tyres.

Your movePriceable, and visible. Two tyres, an alignment and a front-end check is a real number to take off the asking price.

Step 06106 shots · 7 min

Open the bonnet before anything is warm

A cold engine bay is honest. A warm one hides leaks that have burned off, a misfire that has settled, and a start that would have told you everything. This step must happen before the engine runs.

Where to look, in this order

Oil level and colour: Pull the dipstick. Black is normal on a diesel; gritty, thin or over the maximum is not. Milky brown under the filler cap means coolant where it should not be.
Coolant: Level in the expansion tank, colour bright rather than brown, and no crusty residue around the cap or hose joints. Oil film on the coolant surface ends the viewing.
Leak traces, not puddles: Look for the dried trail, not the drop. Dark wet lines down the back of the block, a damp crank seal, weeping hose clips.
A suspiciously clean bay: A degreased engine on a ten-year-old car was cleaned for a reason. Look for the one bracket that is still dirty, and photograph the clean areas anyway.
Belts and the service sticker: Cracked or glazed auxiliary belt is cheap; an overdue timing belt is not. Find the sticker or the receipt, and note the mileage on it.
Slam panel and bolt heads: Scratched or repainted bolt heads on the wings, bonnet catch or slam panel mean panels have come off. Factory paint sits over untouched bolts.
Battery date: A battery dated this month on a car being sold suggests the old one would not hold a charge, or something drains it.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

06.1Whole bay from the front, bonnet upStand square at the nose, phone high, the whole bay in one frame. This is the shot we read everything else against.
06.2Dipstick held against a clean clothOil on the cloth as well as the stick, both in frame.
06.3Under the oil filler capCap off, upturned, lens close to the underside. Torch on.
06.4Coolant tank at eye levelCrouch so the level line is level with the lens, not viewed from above.
06.5Both front wing bolt heads and the slam panelClose enough to read the paint on the bolt heads.
06.6Service sticker or last receiptFlat, square on, mileage and date legible.

Send these with the photos

Last service mileage and date
Whether the timing belt or chain has been done, and at what mileage
Anything the seller has recently replaced
How often the car does short journeys

Example of what comes backWatch · Real, and priceable

Short-trip history, and the belt is unproven

The bay is sound and dry, but the car has done roughly 6,000 miles in two years on mostly short runs — a pattern that loads a diesel particulate filter and shortens battery and turbo life. No belt receipt, and the interval on this class of engine is near.

Your movePriceable. Treat an unproven belt as a job due now and ask for a long hot drive before you decide.

Step 07104 shots · 8 min

Phone on the floor, torch on

You are not getting under the car, and you do not need to. A phone lying on the ground with the flash on, pushed under each corner, collects evidence most buyers never look for and most sellers never expect.

Where to look, in this order

Sump and gearbox: A seep leaves a wet shadow with a clean drip point. Note whether the oil trail is fresh and black or old and dusty.
CV boots: Rubber concertina behind each front wheel. Split boots fling grease around the arch and the joint is on its way out.
Bushes and arms: Rubber bushes at the ends of suspension arms. Cracked, perished or displaced rubber is a knock you will hear on the drive.
Exhaust from front to back: Joints blowing, a flexi collapsing, hangers snapped, or a box that rattles when you push it. Rust on the pipe is normal; holes are not.
Jack and kerb damage: Crushed sills, scraped sump guard, a flattened pipe. All say the car has been lifted carelessly or landed hard.
Brake and fuel lines: Follow them along the sill. Flaking, scaly lines are an advisory becoming a failure.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

07.1Under each corner, flash onPhone flat on the ground, screen up, slide it under until the arm and the inner sill are in frame. Take several and keep the sharpest.
07.2Both front CV bootsTurn the steering to full lock first; the boot comes into view behind the wheel.
07.3The exhaust in three sectionsFront, middle box, rear box. Torch along the pipe so holes read as dark spots.
07.4Under the engine, straight back from the nosePhone on the floor at the number plate, pointing back and up at the sump.

Send these with the photos

Anything you could hear knocking over bumps
Whether the car has a space saver, a full spare, or a can of foam
Any fresh oil mark on the seller’s driveway

Example of what comes backPass · Evidence is consistent

Dry, original, and not been abused

No seep at the sump or gearbox, both CV boots intact, bushes not perished, and the exhaust is factory with surface rust only. The jacking points in your earlier photos match the clean sills here.

Your moveNothing to price. Spend the negotiation on the tyres instead.

Step 08105 shots · 8 min

Press every button once

Interior faults are where a cheap car quietly becomes expensive: a damp carpet means a leak, a dead blower means dash-out labour, and wear that does not match the odometer means the mileage is a story.

Where to look, in this order

Wear against claimed mileage: Steering wheel rim, gear knob, driver’s seat bolster, pedal rubbers and the shine on the door pull. A low-mileage car with a polished wheel and a worn brake pedal has done more than it says.
Damp: Smell first, before the windows are open. Then press the carpet in both footwells and the boot floor with the back of your hand. Condensation inside the lights or a misting screen points the same way.
Every window, mirror and lock: All the way down and up from both the driver’s door and the door itself. Mirrors through their full range. Central locking from the key and the handle.
Climate, every setting: Blower on each speed, hot to cold, every vent setting, air conditioning on until the vent goes genuinely cold. A blower that only works on full is a resistor; silence is a motor behind the dash.
Seats, belts and rails: Slide and recline both front seats. Pull each belt fully out and let it retract — slow or stuck belts can be an age issue or an accident one. Check belt stalk bolts for disturbance.
Screens and sensors: Infotainment, reversing camera, parking sensors, heated seats and screens, sunroof through its full travel, and all interior lighting.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

08.1Driver’s seat, wheel and pedals in one frameFrom the open driver’s door, phone at head height looking down and in. Pedal rubbers must be visible.
08.2Both footwell carpets, liftedMat out, torch at a low angle so damp reads as a dark patch.
08.3Boot floor and spare wellSame as the rust step; take it again with the carpet fully out.
08.4Climate display and ventAir conditioning running on cold, phone at the vent; include the control panel in the frame.
08.5Anything that did not workA photo of the switch and a note. The switch tells us where the fault lives.

Send these with the photos

Any switch, window, light or screen that did not work
Whether the interior smelled damp when you first opened it
Vent temperature as cold as you could get it, if the car shows it

Example of what comes backWatch · Real, and priceable

Wear outruns the odometer, and there is water getting in

Pedal rubbers and the wheel rim are worn consistent with a car well past the mileage shown, and the near-side rear carpet is damp with a dry boot — a door seal or a blocked sunroof drain rather than a leaking screen.

Your moveTwo separate things to settle: get the mileage history checked properly, and find the water before you buy, not after.

Step 09104 shots · 5 min

The engine must be stone cold

This is the single most informative thirty seconds of the viewing, and it only happens once. Ask the seller not to start or move the car before you arrive. If the bonnet is warm when you get there, come back another day.

Where to look, in this order

Bonnet temperature on arrival: Back of your hand on the bonnet before you say hello. Warm means the car has been run, and you have lost this step.
All lamps at key-on: Ignition on, engine off. Every warning lamp should light: engine, airbag, ABS, brake, oil pressure. A lamp that never lights has had its bulb removed to hide a fault.
The first five seconds: Long crank, a rattle that fades, or a knock that stays. Timing-chain rattle on start is loudest here and quiet once oil pressure builds.
Lamps after start: They should all extinguish within a couple of seconds. An oil-pressure lamp that lingers, or a glow-plug light that flashes, is a stop.
Exhaust at idle: Watch from behind for the first half minute. Steam that clears is fine. Blue means oil, thick white that persists means coolant, and dense black on a diesel means fuelling.
Idle quality: Stand beside the bonnet. Hunting revs, a rhythmic shake, or a tick that rises with revs are all worth recording.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

09.1Dash at key-on, engine offSit in the driver’s seat, phone square to the cluster, every lamp lit and legible.
09.2Dash immediately after startSame framing, taken about five seconds after it fires. We compare the two.
09.3Video: start to thirty secondsStart recording before the key turns, phone resting on the wing so it does not shake, sound on. Do not talk over it.
09.4Video: exhaust at idleFrom behind, tailpipe in frame, fifteen seconds. Then a short clip with the revs held.

Send these with the photos

Was the engine cold when you arrived — honestly
Any lamp that stayed on or never came on
Any noise you heard but cannot see in the video

Example of what comes backWalk · No price fixes this

A lamp was removed, and the start is not clean

The airbag lamp never illuminates at key-on in your first photo, which on this cluster means the bulb or the warning has been disabled rather than the system being healthy. The video also carries a chain rattle for about three seconds after start.

Your moveWalk. A disabled airbag warning is a safety system you cannot verify and a seller who knew.

Step 10105 shots · 15 min

Drive it badly on purpose

Most test drives are a gentle lap that proves nothing. You want the car cold, then hot; slow, then at speed; braking hard once where it is safe, and turning at full lock. Then park it and look underneath again.

Where to look, in this order

The first mile, cold: Cold gearchanges are stiff if the synchros are tired. A clutch that bites high or judders tells you now, not later.
Steering released on a straight: On a quiet, flat road, loosen your grip briefly. A consistent pull one way is alignment at best, brakes or a bent component at worst.
Braking from speed: Where it is safe and clear, brake firmly once. Judder through the pedal is warped discs; a pull is a sticking caliper; a long pedal that sinks is hydraulic.
Pull in third gear: From low revs in a mid gear, accelerate steadily. Flat spots, a whistle rising to a shriek, or a sudden drop into limp mode are all turbo or boost-leak evidence.
Broken road at low speed: Windows down, radio off. Knocks over bumps are suspension; a clonk on the first turn of the wheel is often a top mount or a worn joint.
Full lock, both ways, slowly: Clicking at full lock is a CV joint. Grinding is a bearing. Groaning is the power steering.
Park and look again: Let it idle for a minute, then look under it and at the dash. Fresh drips, a cooling fan screaming, or a new lamp will only show now.

Photograph exactly this

Tick each one as you take it.

10.1Video: dash on the movePassenger films the cluster for thirty seconds at a steady 50–60, then again accelerating. Never film while driving.
10.2Video: knocks over a rough surfaceWindows down, radio off, phone on your lap pointing out. Thirty seconds of broken road.
10.3Video: full lock both directionsCar crawling in a quiet car park, sound on, windows down.
10.4Under the car after the drivePark on clean ground, idle a minute, then phone on the floor under the engine and the gearbox.
10.5Dash with the engine hot at idleTemperature gauge and any lamps in frame, five minutes after you stop.

Send these with the photos

What you felt through the wheel, the pedal and the gearstick, in your own words
Any new lamp that appeared on the drive
Whether the temperature gauge settled and stayed settled
Price asked, price you had in mind, and whether anyone else is viewing it

Example of what comes backWatch · Real, and priceable

Mechanically sound, two jobs owed

Clean boost through third, temperature stable, no knock over broken surfaces, and nothing new on the cluster. Your braking clip shows pedal judder from around 60, and the full-lock clip has a faint click on left lock only.

Your moveBuy, with a figure deducted for front discs and one CV joint, and nothing deducted for the paint you already knew about.

Your photos, read against this car

The shot list above is the same for every car. The verdict is not. Your photographs and your answers go to a vision model — Claude, reached through OpenRouter, with fallbacks so one provider having a bad day does not cost you a verdict. It sorts your unsorted photos into the ten steps, reads each one against this car at this mileage, grades the car by its worst well-evidenced finding, and says plainly which photographs it could not read.

Registration or VIN, and the odometer reading
Asking price, and how long it has been advertised
Private or trade, and whose name is on the document
Service history: stamps, receipts, or neither
How the car has been used — short runs, motorway, towing

Example of the returned list

Hatchback · 1.6 diesel · 108,400 mi

Due now at this mileage
Timing belt and water pump on a belt-driven engine past its interval, whether or not it sounds fine.
Common on this body at this age
Rear spring perches and the inner sill behind the plastic trim, on cars that have lived on salted roads.
Common on this drivetrain
Dual-mass flywheel and clutch judder from around six figures, heard as a shake at pull-away.
Pattern-specific
Particulate filter loading on a diesel doing short journeys — your own answer about journey length decides whether this is a risk or not.

The shape of what the model returns, written here for a car that does not exist. A real one names the engine, gearbox and body on your document, and says by what mechanism each item fails rather than asserting a recall.

Send the photos before the money moves

You can send them from the driveway, before you answer the seller. Nothing here asks you to decide on the spot — that is the whole point of taking photographs instead of opinions.

Nothing is metered or charged on this site yet, and your photographs are not stored here — they are passed to the model, read, and the verdict is streamed back to you. The shot list is free to use whether or not you ever send anything.