2013 DODGE CHARGER SE VIN 2C3CDXBGXDH625676

The Dodge Charger SE described here left the factory in 2013. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with rear-wheel drive. Under the bonnet is a 3.6-litre petrol engine. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

The record gives the mileage as 205,039 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Averaged over the car’s age, the mileage works out well above the usual annual distance, and wear on the suspension, brakes and interior should be judged with that in mind. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

In the source data, the main issue is side damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. With side damage on file, the inspection should start with the door pillars, the sills and the side airbags.

A key is on file for the car. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

According to the source data, the car has a clean title. With a clean title the car can be registered and insured in the usual way.

Behind every used car lies a string of events: who owned it and for how long, what the inspections found and which repairs and claims were made. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

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. A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. 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 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. The VIN on file for this car is 2C3CDXBGXDH625676.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. A repair paid for in cash at a small workshop leaves no trace in any database, so no report can list it. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. With this 2013 Dodge Charger SE, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN 2C3CDXBGXDH625676.