2014 NISSAN SENTRA SV VIN 3N1AB7AP1EL657776

This entry is for a 2014 Nissan Sentra SV, finished in silver. Power comes from a 1.8-litre petrol engine with four cylinders. The drivetrain combines a manual gearbox with front-wheel drive.

The clock stood at 149,467 miles when the data was entered. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years.

In the source data, the main issue is front-end damage. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. Whatever the cause, a diagnostic scan of the car’s electronics shows fault codes that a visual check misses.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was noted with the car. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

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. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

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. A manual gearbox should change cleanly into every gear; a slipping clutch or a rattle at idle points to work that will be needed soon.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. The VIN 3N1AB7AP1EL657776 belongs to this 2014 Nissan Sentra SV. 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.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. 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. A history check on VIN 3N1AB7AP1EL657776 is the place to start.