2013 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GT VIN KMHD35LE9DU120273

This Hyundai Elantra GT is a 2013 model, finished in grey. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. Power comes from a 1.8-litre petrol engine with four cylinders, rated at 145 hp.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 111,706 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

The source data names no primary damage. That shows only that none was entered, so the body still deserves a close look. Paint depth, panel gaps and the underbody show whether the body has been repaired.

When it was checked, the car could not be driven. The engine would not start, which can mean anything from a flat battery to serious mechanical damage. A key was there when the car was checked. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

According to the source data, the car has a clean title. There is no salvage or similar mark, so the car was never recorded as a total loss.

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. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues.

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. This Hyundai Elantra GT has the VIN KMHD35LE9DU120273. Scratches, fresh paint or a replaced plate around the VIN markings are warning signs in their own right.

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 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 going any further with this Hyundai Elantra GT, it makes sense to look up VIN KMHD35LE9DU120273.