2015 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SE VIN 3VWD17AJ2FM224226

This record covers a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta SE. The fuel is petrol. The gearbox is automatic. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 110,523 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

This Volkswagen Jetta SE is recorded with front-end damage. 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.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key was noted with the car.

The car carries a salvage title. A title of this kind usually means the car was written off as a total loss after damage. Once issued, a branded title stays with the VIN for good, and it affects registration and insurance for every later owner.

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. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. A clean, polished car can still hide a serious accident, a flood or years of hard use.

Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. This car’s identification number is 3VWD17AJ2FM224226. 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.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. Paperwork is only as complete as the people who kept it, so a report with few entries lowers the risk without removing it. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. A history check on VIN 3VWD17AJ2FM224226 is the place to start.