2013 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS VIN 5NPDH4AE3DH233486

This Hyundai Elantra GLS was built in 2013. The petrol engine has four cylinders. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 78,806 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

The main issue noted for this car is rear-end damage. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. With rear-end damage on file, the inspection should start with the boot floor, the rear panel and the chassis rails.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key was present. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

Behind every used car lies a string of events: who owned it and for how long, what the inspections found and which repairs and claims were made. A car’s paperwork is scattered: the registry knows about owners, the workshop about repairs and the insurance company about claims. 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. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

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 record gives the VIN as 5NPDH4AE3DH233486. The VIN usually appears at the base of the windscreen, on a door pillar and stamped into the body, and all of them should match the documents.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. 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. For this 2013 Hyundai Elantra GLS, the sensible next step is a history check on VIN 5NPDH4AE3DH233486.