2005 CADILLAC SRX VIN 1GYEE63AX50108397

This entry is for a 2005 Cadillac SRX. The gearbox is automatic, with rear-wheel drive. Power comes from a 4.6-litre petrol engine with eight cylinders. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable.

Primary damage in the record: fire. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. With fire damage on file, the inspection should start with the wiring loom, the hoses and anything plastic near the fire.

Without a key, a modern car needs a replacement coded to its immobiliser before it can even be started. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

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. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

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, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. 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.

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. This car’s identification number is 1GYEE63AX50108397. 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 gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. Paperwork is only as complete as the people who kept it, so a report with few entries lowers the risk without removing it. 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 1GYEE63AX50108397 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.