2017 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LAREDO VIN 1C4RJEAG9HC708013

This entry is for a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, finished in silver. Power comes from a 3.6-litre petrol engine with six cylinders, rated at 295 hp. There is an automatic gearbox, with rear-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back.

The record lists fire damage as the main problem on this car. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. A lift and a diagnostic check show what photos cannot: bent brackets behind a panel, chafed wiring or deployed airbags.

Without a key, a modern car needs a replacement coded to its immobiliser before it can even be started. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

A salvage title is on file for this car. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss.

A car’s history is the sum of what has happened to it since it was new, and most of it has left a trace on paper somewhere. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. A clean, polished car can still hide a serious accident, a flood or years of hard use.

A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, its identity for life, and no two cars share one. The record gives the VIN as 1C4RJEAG9HC708013. The number in the car’s documents should match the one stamped into the body and the one on the plate at the base of the windscreen.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. A VIN check and a physical inspection answer different questions: the first says what happened to the car, the second what condition it is in now. With this 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN 1C4RJEAG9HC708013.