2015 CHEVROLET EQUINOX LT VIN 1GNALBEK6FZ127980

This record covers a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox LT, finished in black. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. The fuel is petrol. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The record gives the mileage as 152,052 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. 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: front end. The damage type is a short label: the extent of the damage and the quality of any repair still have to be judged on the car. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

A ‘runs and drives’ note means the car moved under its own power when it was checked. A key was there when the car was checked. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

Title status in the record: clean. 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. 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.

A cold start, the colour of the exhaust smoke and any oil leaks tell a mechanic a good deal about how an engine has been treated. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

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 on file for this car is 1GNALBEK6FZ127980.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. A VIN check and a physical inspection answer different questions: the first says what happened to the car, the second what condition it is in now. Before any decision, check what is known about VIN 1GNALBEK6FZ127980.