2013 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS VIN KMHDH4AE6DU759841

This record covers a 2013 Hyundai Elantra GLS, finished in silver. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. Under the bonnet is a 1.8-litre petrol engine. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The record gives the mileage as 124,431 miles. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

Primary damage in the record: rear end. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. 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 is on file for the car. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

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

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.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. The record gives the VIN as KMHDH4AE6DU759841. 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.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. A history check on VIN KMHDH4AE6DU759841 is the place to start.