2015 KIA OPTIMA EX VIN 5XXGN4A73FG518758

This record covers a 2015 KIA Optima EX. The car runs on petrol. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 140,076 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The main issue noted for this car is front-end damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Damage rarely stays where it is first seen: an impact can reach the mountings and airbags behind a panel, and water or fire the wiring and electronics.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. 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 car carries a salvage title. Such a title means the car was declared a total loss and can return to the road only after repair and inspection. If any work has been done on the car since, photos and invoices should show what was replaced.

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 petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

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 on file for this car is 5XXGN4A73FG518758. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

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. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 5XXGN4A73FG518758.