2014 INFINITI QX60 VIN 5N1AL0MN8EC534009

This record covers a 2014 Infiniti QX60. Under the bonnet is a 3.5-litre petrol engine. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The car was recorded with 203,572 miles on the clock. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Averaged over the car’s age, the mileage works out well above the usual annual distance, and wear on the suspension, brakes and interior should be judged with that in mind. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable.

Primary damage in the record: left front. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. With damage to the left front on file, the inspection should start with the left front wing, the suspension on that corner and the wheel alignment.

A car that does not run has to be moved on a trailer, and its real condition is known only after a thorough assessment. The engine started, although the car is not confirmed as drivable. A key was there when the car was checked.

A salvage title is on file for this car. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

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. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

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. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues.

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. The VIN 5N1AL0MN8EC534009 belongs to this 2014 Infiniti QX60. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. Look up the history of VIN 5N1AL0MN8EC534009 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.