if you have one can you please post. i'm curious if the car i just bought was in an accident and the front has been replaced... i know in japanese cars there is usually a diagram/schematic on the underside of the hood when it oem but usually not there when its changed... also on some bimmers there are some padding underneath... thanks in advance... also is a via-com the same thing as an obII code reader??

 

There is 3 stickers under the hood. The one in the very center has the model, vin, date made etc on it. There is also a small engine diagram on the drivers side and another sticker on the passagers side. The hood is made of aluminum so it doesnt get hot like hoods made of steel so you should only have some black thin padding in the recessed areas. The previous owner could of just changed hoods or removed the stickers for personal prefference.

As for vag com, it is much more than a code reader. Yes it can read codes but thats only a small portion of what it can do. You can also do a bunch of things from changing settings on locking the doors to changing the timing and fuel, 0-60, dynos, 1/4 times to even plotting charts of boost, timing, a/f etc.

 

Is there no way of looking at the frame of the car? Try to remove as much of the engine covers as possbile. And take your time looking at the frame running along the fenders. Normally if a car has been in an accident and they body shop changes the core support. You can still see crimpage along the frame.