2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU LT VIN 1G1ZH57B594155176

This entry is for a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu LT, finished in grey. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. Under the bonnet is a 2.4-litre petrol engine.

The recorded mileage is 273,361 miles. Averaged over the car’s age, the mileage works out well above the usual annual distance, and wear on the suspension, brakes and interior should be judged with that in mind. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display.

No damage entry is on file for this car. Signs of an old repair – uneven panel gaps, overspray, a slight mismatch in paint – can still turn up at an inspection.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key is on file for the car.

According to the source data, the car has a clean title. A clean title is a good sign, though it says nothing about wear, maintenance or how the car was driven.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. 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.

A vehicle identification number has 17 characters: the first three name the manufacturer, the next six describe the model and its specification, and the last eight identify the individual car. The VIN on file for this car is 1G1ZH57B594155176.

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 professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. Before going any further with this Chevrolet Malibu LT, it makes sense to look up VIN 1G1ZH57B594155176.