How do I find my car's original colour?

The original colour is recorded on the V5C and included in a vehicle history check's vehicle details section. This matters because a colour change (a full respray) is something worth knowing about — it can be entirely cosmetic, or in rare cases used to disguise a vehicle's identity following theft.

If the current colour doesn't match DVLA records, a history check will typically flag this as a discrepancy worth asking the seller about.