2018 CADILLAC CT6 LUXURY VIN 1G6KD5RS1JU109479

This record covers a 2018 Cadillac CT6 Luxury, finished in silver. Power comes from a 3.6-litre petrol engine with six cylinders, rated at 335 hp. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox.

The car was recorded with 69,779 miles on the clock. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

Primary damage in the record: right front. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since.

A note in the source data says the car did not run. The engine could not be started. A key was noted with the car. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

Title status in the record: non-repairable. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

A car’s history is the sum of what has happened to it since it was new, and most of it has left a trace on paper somewhere. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

When a car does not run, a compression test and the condition of the oil tell a mechanic whether the engine can be brought back to life. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues.

The VIN is a 17-character code assigned at the factory: it identifies the manufacturer, the model and its variant, and ends with a serial number unique to the car. The VIN 1G6KD5RS1JU109479 belongs to this 2018 Cadillac CT6 Luxury. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. 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. A history check on VIN 1G6KD5RS1JU109479 is the place to start.