2016 HYUNDAI TUCSON SE VIN KM8J33A43GU088085

This record covers a 2016 Hyundai Tucson SE, finished in blue. The car runs on petrol. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive.

The recorded mileage is 199,366 miles. A clock converted from miles to kilometres should be documented, since the swap can hide the true mileage. The mileage is high for the car’s age, so the suspension, brakes, seats and steering wheel deserve a close look. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The record lists minor dents and scratches as the main problem on this car. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. Whatever the cause, a diagnostic scan of the car’s electronics shows fault codes that a visual check misses.

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. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

Title status in the record: salvage. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss.

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. 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.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. 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 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 Hyundai Tucson SE is KM8J33A43GU088085. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. A repair paid for in cash at a small workshop leaves no trace in any database, so no report can list it. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN KM8J33A43GU088085.