2001 NISSAN FRONTIER XE VIN 1N6DD26S31C355008

This Nissan Frontier XE was built in 2001. The gearbox is automatic. Power comes from a 2.4-litre petrol engine with four cylinders, rated at 143 hp. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

The source data puts the mileage at 143,233 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it.

This Nissan Frontier XE is recorded with mechanical damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

A key is on file for the car.

Title status in the record: clean. There is no salvage or similar mark, so the car was never recorded as a total loss.

Every car builds up a history from the day it is first registered: owners come and go, inspections are passed or failed, and repairs are paid for. 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.

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. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

A history check works by VIN because the number never changes, unlike registration plates and owners. This car’s identification number is 1N6DD26S31C355008. The VIN usually appears at the base of the windscreen, on a door pillar and stamped into the body, and all of them should match the documents.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. A repair paid for in cash at a small workshop leaves no trace in any database, so no report can list it. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. Before any decision, check what is known about VIN 1N6DD26S31C355008.