2015 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 S VIN 1N4AL3AP7FN325626

The Nissan Altima 2.5 S described here left the factory in 2015. The gearbox is automatic. The petrol engine has four cylinders and produces 182 hp.

The record gives the mileage as 49,223 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. Little distance per year can mean long periods of standing, light use or a tampered clock, and only older entries tell these apart. Services and inspections note the distance covered, so a car with an ordinary past builds up a trail of figures that climb year after year. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

This Nissan Altima 2.5 S is recorded with rear-end damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key is on file for the car. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

The car carries a salvage title. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. A clean, polished car can still hide a serious accident, a flood or years of hard use.

A cold start, the colour of the exhaust smoke and any oil leaks tell a mechanic a good deal about how an engine has been treated. 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.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. This car’s identification number is 1N4AL3AP7FN325626.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. 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. Before making a decision about this Nissan Altima 2.5 S, check the history behind VIN 1N4AL3AP7FN325626.