2010 BUICK LUCERNE CX VIN 1G4HA5EM2AU109445

This Buick Lucerne CX was built in 2010. Under the bonnet is a 3.9-litre flex-fuel engine. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The record gives the mileage as 173,128 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The record lists damage to the right front as the main problem on this car. The damage type is a short label: the extent of the damage and the quality of any repair still have to be judged on the car. 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 checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was there when the car was checked. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

The record shows a salvage title. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss. Once issued, a branded title stays with the VIN for good, and it affects registration and insurance for every later owner.

Every car builds up a history from the day it is first registered: owners come and go, inspections are passed or failed, and repairs are paid for. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

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. 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.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. This Buick Lucerne CX has the VIN 1G4HA5EM2AU109445.

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 professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. A history check on VIN 1G4HA5EM2AU109445 is the place to start.