2011 HYUNDAI GENESIS 2.0T VIN KMHHT6KD8BU051332

This Hyundai Genesis 2.0T was built in 2011. The gearbox is automatic. The car runs on petrol.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 146,518 miles. Services and inspections note the distance covered, so a car with an ordinary past builds up a trail of figures that climb year after year. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The record lists front-end damage as the main problem on this car. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. With front-end damage on file, the inspection should start with the radiator support, the headlamp mountings and the front crash structure.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was present. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

A salvage title is on file for this car. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. 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. 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 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 of this Hyundai Genesis 2.0T is KMHHT6KD8BU051332.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. Look up the history of VIN KMHHT6KD8BU051332 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.