2018 SUBARU IMPREZA 2.0I VIN 4S3GKAA62J3612699

This entry is for a 2018 Subaru Impreza 2.0I, finished in blue. The drivetrain combines a CVT gearbox with all-wheel drive. The fuel is petrol.

The car was recorded with 75,050 miles on the clock. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The main issue noted for this car is flood damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. With flood damage on file, the inspection should start with the wiring, connectors and electronics, and any corrosion under the carpets.

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

The car carries a salvage title. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

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.

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. 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 car with all-wheel drive has extra differentials and often a transfer case, which an inspection should cover alongside the engine and gearbox.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. This Subaru Impreza 2.0I has the VIN 4S3GKAA62J3612699. 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.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. With this 2018 Subaru Impreza 2.0I, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN 4S3GKAA62J3612699.