2014 AUDI A6 PRESTIGE VIN WAUHMAFC1EN149667

The Audi A6 Prestige described here left the factory in 2014. There is an automatic gearbox, with all-wheel drive. Under the bonnet is a 3.0-litre diesel engine producing 240 hp. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 228,689 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. The mileage is high for the car’s age, so the suspension, brakes, seats and steering wheel deserve a close look. 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.

When the car was recorded, it showed minor dents and scratches. The damage type is a short label: the extent of the damage and the quality of any repair still have to be judged on the car. With minor dents and scratches on file, the inspection should start with the paintwork and whether any dent has reached the metal underneath.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. A key was there when the car was checked. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

A clean title is on file for this car. There is no salvage or similar mark, so the car was never recorded as a total loss.

A car’s history is the sum of what has happened to it since it was new, and most of it has left a trace on paper somewhere. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

A diesel used mainly for short trips may need attention to its particulate filter, EGR valve or injectors. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating. With all-wheel drive, mismatched tyres can strain the centre differential or coupling, so all four should be the same make and similarly worn.

Stamped into the body and printed on a plate, the VIN is the one identifier that stays with a car through every owner, registration and repair. The VIN on file for this car is WAUHMAFC1EN149667. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN WAUHMAFC1EN149667.