2014 CADILLAC ATS STANDARD VIN 1G6AA5RA9E0158633

This record covers a 2014 Cadillac ATS Standard, finished in black. Power comes from a 2.5-litre petrol engine with four cylinders. The gearbox is automatic, with rear-wheel drive. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The clock stood at 184,771 miles when the data was entered. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

No primary damage is given in the record for this car, which is not the same as proof that it has never been damaged. Paint depth, panel gaps and the underbody show whether the body has been repaired.

A key is on file for the car. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

A clean title is on file for this car. With a clean title the car can be registered and insured in the usual way.

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. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

For the engine, the service history matters most: oil changes, filters and the timing belt or chain are the entries to look for. 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 VIN is a 17-character code assigned at the factory: it identifies the manufacturer, the model and its variant, and ends with a serial number unique to the car. The record gives the VIN as 1G6AA5RA9E0158633.

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. 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. For this 2014 Cadillac ATS Standard, the sensible next step is a history check on VIN 1G6AA5RA9E0158633.