2018 NISSAN SENTRA S VIN 3N1AB7APXJY272147

This Nissan Sentra S is a 2018 model, finished in black. The gearbox is automatic, with front-wheel drive. The engine is a 1.8-litre petrol unit with four cylinders. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

The source data puts the mileage at 86,674 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

Primary damage in the record: rear end. 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.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key is on file for the car.

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.

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. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. 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. A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. For this car, the VIN is 3N1AB7APXJY272147. 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.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. Paperwork is only as complete as the people who kept it, so a report with few entries lowers the risk without removing it. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. Before making a decision about this Nissan Sentra S, check the history behind VIN 3N1AB7APXJY272147.