2012 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN LE VIN WVGAV7AX0CW560057

The Volkswagen Tiguan LE described here left the factory in 2012. Power comes from a 2.0-litre petrol engine with four cylinders. The gearbox is automatic, with front-wheel drive.

The clock stood at 163,888 miles when the data was entered. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The main issue noted for this car is damage to the right front. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. With damage to the right front on file, the inspection should start with the right front wing, the suspension on that corner and the wheel alignment.

When it was checked, the car could not be driven. The engine would not start, which can mean anything from a flat battery to serious mechanical damage. A key is on file for the car. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

Title status in the record: salvage. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss. If any work has been done on the car since, photos and invoices should show what was replaced.

A car’s history answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. While the car does not run, stored fault codes and a look at the fluid are the only early evidence of how the automatic gearbox has fared.

A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q, which could be mistaken for digits; its 17 characters identify the maker, the model and the individual car. The VIN on file for this car is WVGAV7AX0CW560057.

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 absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. 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. Look up the history of VIN WVGAV7AX0CW560057 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.