2013 AUDI A5 2.0T PREMIUM VIN WAUCFAFR1DA037417

This Audi A5 2.0T Premium is a 2013 model, finished in black. The fuel is petrol. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with all-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The record gives the mileage as 176,665 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

When the car was recorded, it showed front-end damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

The record describes this Audi A5 2.0T Premium as a non-runner. The engine would not start, which can mean anything from a flat battery to serious mechanical damage. No key is recorded with the car, and a replacement has to be coded to the immobiliser. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The car carries a salvage title. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

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

When a car does not run, a compression test and the condition of the oil tell a mechanic whether the engine can be brought back to life. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. While the car does not run, stored fault codes and a look at the fluid are the only early evidence of how the automatic gearbox has fared.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. The VIN of this Audi A5 2.0T Premium is WAUCFAFR1DA037417.

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 professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. With this 2013 Audi A5 2.0T Premium, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN WAUCFAFR1DA037417.