2017 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 S VIN 1N4AL3AP7HC154777

This record covers a 2017 Nissan Altima 2.5 S. The petrol engine has four cylinders and produces 179 hp. The drivetrain combines a CVT gearbox with front-wheel drive.

The recorded mileage is 132,378 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

No damage entry is on file for this car, and the bodywork still needs checking in person. Signs of an old repair – uneven panel gaps, overspray, a slight mismatch in paint – can still turn up at an inspection.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key was there when the car was checked.

According to the source data, the car has a clean title. There is no salvage or similar mark, so the car was never recorded as 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. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. Automatic transmissions, CVTs included, are expensive to repair, so the test drive should include pulling away from a standstill and a stretch at motorway speed.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. The record gives the VIN as 1N4AL3AP7HC154777.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. 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. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 1N4AL3AP7HC154777.