2013 MERCEDES-BENZ S 550 4MATIC VIN WDDNG9EB6DA500900

The Mercedes-Benz S 550 4MATIC described here left the factory in 2013. The gearbox is automatic, with all-wheel drive. The car runs on petrol. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The clock stood at 63,570 miles when the data was entered. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Little distance per year can mean long periods of standing, light use or a tampered clock, and only older entries tell these apart. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

The main issue noted for this car is rear-end damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. 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.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. 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 should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating. A car with all-wheel drive has extra differentials and often a transfer case, which an inspection should cover alongside the engine and gearbox.

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 WDDNG9EB6DA500900. The VIN usually appears at the base of the windscreen, on a door pillar and stamped into the body, and all of them should match the documents.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. Look up the history of VIN WDDNG9EB6DA500900 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.