2010 VOLKSWAGEN GTI VIN WVWFV7AJ9AW236544

This entry is for a 2010 Volkswagen GTI, finished in black. The fuel is petrol. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The car was recorded with 117,109 miles on the clock. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

This Volkswagen GTI is recorded with mechanical damage. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. A lift and a diagnostic check show what photos cannot: bent brackets behind a panel, chafed wiring or deployed airbags.

A key is on file for the car.

Title status in the record: clean. 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. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

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 VIN is a 17-character code assigned at the factory: it identifies the manufacturer, the model and its variant, and ends with a serial number unique to the car. This car’s identification number is WVWFV7AJ9AW236544.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. A history check on VIN WVWFV7AJ9AW236544 is the place to start.