1979 PONTIAC FIREBIRD VIN 2T87A9L157821

This Pontiac Firebird was built in 1979. Beyond the make, model and year, little of the specification is known.

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.

Primary damage in the record: parts removed. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Whatever the cause, a diagnostic scan of the car’s electronics shows fault codes that a visual check misses.

No key was available with the car. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

A clean title is on file for this car. Nothing on the title points to a total loss or a flood.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. A car’s paperwork is scattered: the registry knows about owners, the workshop about repairs and the insurance company about claims. A clean, polished car can still hide a serious accident, a flood or years of hard use.

A vehicle identification number has 17 characters: the first three name the manufacturer, the next six describe the model and its specification, and the last eight identify the individual car. The VIN 2T87A9L157821 belongs to this 1979 Pontiac Firebird. 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.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. 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. Before any decision, check what is known about VIN 2T87A9L157821.