2007 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER SS VIN 1GNET13H772242892

This Chevrolet Trailblazer SS was built in 2007. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with four-wheel drive. The petrol engine has eight cylinders. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The source data puts the mileage at 83,258 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Little distance per year can mean long periods of standing, light use or a tampered clock, and only older entries tell these apart. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. 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. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

No key is recorded with the car, and a replacement has to be coded to the immobiliser.

A salvage title is on file for this car. At some point in its life, the car was 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.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. 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. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. 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. On a car with four-wheel drive, a whine or clunk when turning tightly at low speed needs a mechanic’s attention.

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. The VIN of this Chevrolet Trailblazer SS is 1GNET13H772242892. The number in the car’s documents should match the one stamped into the body and the one on the plate at the base of the windscreen.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. 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 making a decision about this Chevrolet Trailblazer SS, check the history behind VIN 1GNET13H772242892.