2022 HYUNDAI TUCSON LIMITED VIN 5NMJE3AE8NH008467

This Hyundai Tucson Limited is a 2022 model. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. Power comes from a 2.5-litre petrol engine with four cylinders. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The source data puts the mileage at 105,445 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. Averaged over the car’s age, the mileage works out well above the usual annual distance, and wear on the suspension, brakes and interior should be judged with that in mind. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

Primary damage in the record: side. 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.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key is on file for the car.

Title status in the record: salvage. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title.

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. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

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. 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.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. The VIN 5NMJE3AE8NH008467 belongs to this 2022 Hyundai Tucson Limited. 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. The past is on file; the car’s condition today is a job for a mechanic, who can check the structure, underbody, electrics and any repairs on a lift. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 5NMJE3AE8NH008467.