2018 AUDI Q7 3.0T PREMIUM VIN WA1LAAF76JD018222

The Audi Q7 3.0T Premium described here left the factory in 2018. There is an automatic gearbox, with all-wheel drive. Power comes from a 3.0-litre petrol engine with six cylinders. The specification is taken from the source data.

The source data puts the mileage at 160,362 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. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

Primary damage in the record: right rear. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. With damage to the right rear on file, the inspection should start with the right rear quarter panel, the suspension on that corner and the boot floor.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was present.

A salvage title is on file for this car. A title of this kind usually means the car was written off as a total loss after damage. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title, however sound the car looks.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. A clean, polished car can still hide a serious accident, a flood or years of hard use.

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. With all-wheel drive, mismatched tyres can strain the centre differential or coupling, so all four should be the same make and similarly worn.

A history check works by VIN because the number never changes, unlike registration plates and owners. This car’s identification number is WA1LAAF76JD018222. The number in the car’s documents should match the one stamped into the body and the one on the plate at the base of the windscreen.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. Paperwork is only as complete as the people who kept it, so a report with few entries lowers the risk without removing it. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. Look up the history of VIN WA1LAAF76JD018222 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.