2013 INFINITI JX35 VIN 5N1AL0MM9DC318594

This Infiniti JX35 is a 2013 model, finished in black. There is an automatic gearbox, with all-wheel drive. Under the bonnet is a 3.5-litre petrol engine. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 179,267 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

The record lists damage to the left front as the main problem on this car. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. Given the kind of damage entered, a mechanic should look first at the left front wing, the suspension on that corner and the wheel alignment.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. A key was present.

The record shows 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.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. 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 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. 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.

Stamped into the body and printed on a plate, the VIN is the one identifier that stays with a car through every owner, registration and repair. This car’s identification number is 5N1AL0MM9DC318594. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 5N1AL0MM9DC318594.