2016 HONDA PILOT EXL VIN 5FNYF5H54GB037255

This Honda Pilot EXL was built in 2016. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. The engine is a 3.5-litre petrol unit with six cylinders. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

The car was recorded with 174,501 miles on the clock. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. A car that has covered this much distance for its age has worked hard, and a mechanic should judge the wear accordingly. 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 Honda Pilot EXL is recorded with front-end damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key was present. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

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. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, its identity for life, and no two cars share one. This car’s identification number is 5FNYF5H54GB037255. 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.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. 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. With this 2016 Honda Pilot EXL, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN 5FNYF5H54GB037255.