2018 TOYOTA RAV4 XLE VIN 2T3WFREV8JW414464

This Toyota RAV4 XLE was built in 2018. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. Power comes from a 2.5-litre petrol engine with four cylinders, rated at 176 hp.

The recorded mileage is 104,961 miles. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

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 car is recorded as running and driving. A key was noted with the car.

The car carries a salvage title. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. 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.

A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q, which could be mistaken for digits; its 17 characters identify the maker, the model and the individual car. This car’s identification number is 2T3WFREV8JW414464. 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. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. Look up the history of VIN 2T3WFREV8JW414464 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.