DIRECT ANSWER
Make the decision from one identified vehicle.
Assess the DM-i as one integrated plug-in-hybrid system. A fully charged, pre-warmed demonstration can postpone engine operation and hide fuel, coolant, inverter or thermal faults that appear later on a sustained route.
Translate the advertisement into a controlled vehicle description before comparing it. The badge is only a starting point; year, power system, factory configuration and importing country determine which specifications matter. Separate documents and measurements from sales language so no brochure feature is credited twice.
CONNECTED DECISIONS
Use the evidence in its wider route
- Join the thermal evidence to the DM-i engine and route assessment.
- Price fluids, diagnostics and parts through the maintenance and parts plan.
EVIDENCE FILE
Records that change the answer
Start with VIN-linked hybrid configuration and link it to the VIN before accepting translated trim names or catalogue photographs. Add cold-start and fluid-condition record so condition or equipment claims can be checked against the actual car. The remaining records establish how the vehicle operates, how it has been treated and whether the proposed route is credible.
- VIN-linked hybrid configuration
- cold-start and fluid-condition record
- cooling-path and leak photographs
- pre- and post-drive diagnostics
- mixed-mode temperature and transition log
A record remains useful only for the vehicle and moment it describes. Preserve original files, note who supplied them and request a new inspection after a material repair or long custody gap. When another car is offered, discard conclusions that cannot be traced to its VIN.
DECISION TEST
Test the route, not the brochure
A seller presents a warm, highly charged vehicle that stays mostly electric. Recheck from a documented cold state and lower state of charge so engine start, hybrid transitions, cooling stability and restart behavior can enter the evidence file.
Choose the candidate that survives the route test with the fewest unsupported assumptions. Where proof is incomplete, show the buyer the open question and the realistic downside rather than promoting a convenient best case.
Inspection scope should follow the decision. For this route, check confirm the exact DM-i engine, EHS, battery and thermal layout, then request a genuine cold start and preserve pre-clear diagnostics. Continue with inspect each accessible cooling path, fluid and heat exchanger and record run a mixed-mode route and repeat post-drive checks. Measurements, photographs, diagnostics and test conditions are more transferable than labels such as “excellent,” “full option” or “export ready.”
Risk boundary
A quiet EV-mode demonstration can be technically accurate yet commercially misleading. It does not exercise the combustion, fuel or full thermal system, and a generic coolant check cannot prove the correct circuit or fluid.
Disclosure makes a limitation discussable; vagueness makes it risky. Define how the issue affects safety, use, compliance, service or resale and who will resolve it. A deposit should not remove the buyer's ability to verify a decisive claim.
DESTINATION CONTROL
Carry the same facts through export
Declare the exact plug-in-hybrid configuration and follow current carrier fuel and battery-state instructions. Confirm that the destination can safely diagnose the engine, EHS, inverter and high-voltage cooling systems.
Rehearse the export file while the seller still controls the car. Contract, invoice, inspection, customs description and shipping booking should name the same VIN and propulsion. Ask the destination adviser separately about registration and any technical changes required after arrival.
Use a dated worksheet and a single delivery boundary for comparisons. Keep quoted, estimated and conditional lines distinct. Recalculate when currency, vehicle, route, sailing or customs treatment changes rather than carrying an old total into a new transaction.
BUYER QUESTIONS
Questions to settle before payment
Does normal EV mode prove the engine is healthy?
No. A cold-start and mixed-mode test are still required.
Can one coolant reservoir represent every circuit?
No. Identify the exact thermal layout and inspect each applicable path.
What stops the loaded test?
Warnings, leakage, unstable temperature, fuel odor or unsafe road behavior.
PRIMARY REFERENCES
Verify the current market version
BYD lists the current China-market vehicle through separate official Sealion 06 EV and Sealion 06 DM-i pages. Official pages describe the model family; the candidate still needs VIN-linked verification, and destination rules require separate confirmation.