2011 BMW 5 SERIES VIN WBAFR1C5XBC739341

This record covers a 2011 BMW 5 Series. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. The fuel is petrol.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 140,398 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back.

In the source data, the main issue is minor dents and scratches. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. A lift and a diagnostic check show what photos cannot: bent brackets behind a panel, chafed wiring or deployed airbags.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key was noted with the car. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

A clean title is on file for this car. With a clean title the car can be registered and insured in the usual way.

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. 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. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was.

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. This car’s identification number is WBAFR1C5XBC739341. 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 WBAFR1C5XBC739341 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.