2016 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV LUXURY VIN 1GYS4HKJ6GR187195

This record covers a 2016 Cadillac Escalade ESV Luxury, finished in black. Under the bonnet is a 6.2-litre petrol engine. There is an automatic gearbox, with four-wheel drive. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The record gives the mileage as 132,802 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

When the car was recorded, it showed rear-end damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Damage rarely stays where it is first seen: an impact can reach the mountings and airbags behind a panel, and water or fire the wiring and electronics.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key was present. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

Title status in the record: salvage. A title of this kind usually means the car was written off as a total loss after damage.

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. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was. On a car with four-wheel drive, a whine or clunk when turning tightly at low speed needs a mechanic’s attention.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. The VIN of this Cadillac Escalade ESV Luxury is 1GYS4HKJ6GR187195. 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. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. With this 2016 Cadillac Escalade ESV Luxury, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN 1GYS4HKJ6GR187195.