2013 HYUNDAI SONATA GLS VIN 5NPEB4AC8DH623892

The Hyundai Sonata GLS described here left the factory in 2013. The gearbox is automatic. The engine is a 2.4-litre petrol unit with 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 151,648 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

In the source data, the main issue is mechanical damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

A key was present.

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

Every car builds up a history from the day it is first registered: owners come and go, inspections are passed or failed, and repairs are paid for. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

A cold start, the colour of the exhaust smoke and any oil leaks tell a mechanic a good deal about how an engine has been treated. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. 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. The VIN on file for this car is 5NPEB4AC8DH623892.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. 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. Before any decision, check what is known about VIN 5NPEB4AC8DH623892.