2014 CHEVROLET EQUINOX LS VIN 2GNFLEEKXE6223063

This Chevrolet Equinox LS is a 2014 model, finished in white. The gearbox is automatic. The petrol engine has four cylinders.

The source data puts the mileage at 39,479 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. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

Primary damage in the record: front 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.

A ‘runs and drives’ note means the car moved under its own power when it was checked. A key is on file for the car.

According to the source data, the car has a salvage title. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe.

Every car builds up a history from the day it is first registered: owners come and go, inspections are passed or failed, and repairs are paid for. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

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. A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was. With all-wheel drive, mismatched tyres can strain the centre differential or coupling, so all four should be the same make and similarly worn.

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 record gives the VIN as 2GNFLEEKXE6223063. 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.

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. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. Before any decision, check what is known about VIN 2GNFLEEKXE6223063.