1996 BUICK LESABRE CUSTOM VIN 1G4HP52KXTH403737

The Buick Lesabre Custom described here left the factory in 1996. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. The engine is a 3.8-litre petrol unit with six cylinders. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The recorded mileage is 111,154 miles. A clock converted from miles to kilometres should be documented, since the swap can hide the true mileage. Low mileage for the car’s age is good news only if older readings confirm it. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

Primary damage in the record: rear end. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show.

A note in the source data says the car did not run. The engine started, but that says nothing yet about the gearbox or the drive to the wheels. A key was there when the car was checked. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

The record shows a salvage title. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss. Once issued, a branded title stays with the VIN for good, and it affects registration and insurance for every later owner.

Behind every used car lies a string of events: who owned it and for how long, what the inspections found and which repairs and claims were made. A car’s paperwork is scattered: the registry knows about owners, the workshop about repairs and the insurance company about claims. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. With no test drive possible, the automatic gearbox has to be assessed on a lift and with diagnostic equipment.

A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q, which could be mistaken for digits; its 17 characters identify the maker, the model and the individual car. This car’s identification number is 1G4HP52KXTH403737. Scratches, fresh paint or a replaced plate around the VIN markings are warning signs in their own right.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. 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. Before going any further with this Buick Lesabre Custom, it makes sense to look up VIN 1G4HP52KXTH403737.