2013 HYUNDAI AZERA BASE VIN KMHFH4JG5DA280533

This record covers a 2013 Hyundai Azera Base, finished in grey. Under the bonnet is a 3.3-litre petrol engine. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The source data puts the mileage at 166,384 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

In the source data, the main issue is mechanical damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. With mechanical damage on file, the inspection should start with the engine, the gearbox and the running gear.

As a non-runner, the car needs its engine, gearbox and electrics assessed before anything else. The engine could be started. A key was noted with the car. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

A clean title is on file for this car. Such a title means no salvage, flood or similar mark was recorded against the car; it does not rule out damage repaired without a claim.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues.

A history check works by VIN because the number never changes, unlike registration plates and owners. This Hyundai Azera Base has the VIN KMHFH4JG5DA280533. 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.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. 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. Look up the history of VIN KMHFH4JG5DA280533 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.