2016 NISSAN SENTRA SV VIN 3N1AB7AP1GY215036

The Nissan Sentra SV described here left the factory in 2016. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. The engine is a 1.8-litre petrol unit with four cylinders. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The clock stood at 97,286 miles when the data was entered. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

Primary damage in the record: mechanical. The damage type is a short label: the extent of the damage and the quality of any repair still have to be judged on the car.

A key is on file for the car. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

Behind every used car lies a string of events: who owned it and for how long, what the inspections found and which repairs and claims were made. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

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, its identity for life, and no two cars share one. The record gives the VIN as 3N1AB7AP1GY215036. 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. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 3N1AB7AP1GY215036.