2013 CHEVROLET CRUZE LS AUTO VIN 1G1PA5SH6D7265166

This Chevrolet Cruze LS Auto is a 2013 model. The petrol engine has four cylinders and produces 138 hp. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable.

No damage type appears in the source data; that shows what was entered, not what the car has been through. Paint depth, panel gaps and the underbody show whether the body has been repaired.

A key is on file for the car. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The car carries a clean title. With a clean title the car can be registered and insured in the usual way.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

For the engine, the service history matters most: oil changes, filters and the timing belt or chain are the entries to look for. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. Automatic transmissions, CVTs included, are expensive to repair, so the test drive should include pulling away from a standstill and a stretch at motorway speed.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. This car’s identification number is 1G1PA5SH6D7265166.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. With this 2013 Chevrolet Cruze LS Auto, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN 1G1PA5SH6D7265166.