2014 GMC ACADIA SLE-1 VIN 1GKKVNED3EJ101073

This GMC Acadia SLE-1 was built in 2014. Under the bonnet is a 3.6-litre petrol engine. The gearbox is automatic.

The car was recorded with 161,374 miles on the clock. A clock converted from miles to kilometres should be documented, since the swap can hide the true mileage. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it.

This GMC Acadia SLE-1 is recorded with damage to the right side. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. With damage to the right side on file, the inspection should start with the pillars, sills and doors on the right side.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key was present. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

The record shows a clean title. A clean title is a good sign, though it says nothing about wear, maintenance or how the car was driven.

A car’s history answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. 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.

For the engine, the service history matters most: oil changes, filters and the timing belt or chain are the entries to look for. A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. 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. On a car with all-wheel drive, a whine or clunk when turning tightly at low speed needs a mechanic’s attention.

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. For this car, the VIN is 1GKKVNED3EJ101073. 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 gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. Paperwork is only as complete as the people who kept it, so a report with few entries lowers the risk without removing it. A VIN check and a physical inspection answer different questions: the first says what happened to the car, the second what condition it is in now. Before going any further with this GMC Acadia SLE-1, it makes sense to look up VIN 1GKKVNED3EJ101073.