1989 DODGE D-SERIES D100 VIN 1B7FE06Y0KS062837

The Dodge D-Series D100 described here left the factory in 1989. The petrol engine has eight cylinders. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 83,801 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. A car that has covered little distance for its age still ages: rubber seals, tyres and brake fluid deteriorate with time as well as use. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The main issue noted for this car is minor dents and scratches. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work.

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.

A clean title is on file for this car. There is no salvage or similar mark, so the car was never recorded as a total loss.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. A car’s paperwork is scattered: the registry knows about owners, the workshop about repairs and the insurance company about claims. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

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. Automatic transmissions, CVTs included, are expensive to repair, so the test drive should include pulling away from a standstill and a stretch at motorway speed.

Stamped into the body and printed on a plate, the VIN is the one identifier that stays with a car through every owner, registration and repair. The record gives the VIN as 1B7FE06Y0KS062837.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. 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. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 1B7FE06Y0KS062837.