2016 MERCEDES-BENZ CLA 250 4MATIC VIN WDDSJ4GB1GN348901

This record covers a 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4MATIC, finished in black. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. The petrol engine has four cylinders. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 120,586 miles. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back.

When the car was recorded, it showed mechanical damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first.

A key is on file for the car. 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. Nothing on the title points to a total loss or a flood.

Behind every used car lies a string of events: who owned it and for how long, what the inspections found and which repairs and claims were made. 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.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. This car’s identification number is WDDSJ4GB1GN348901. 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. The past is on file; the car’s condition today is a job for a mechanic, who can check the structure, underbody, electrics and any repairs on a lift. Before making a decision about this Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4MATIC, check the history behind VIN WDDSJ4GB1GN348901.