2018 HONDA CR-V EX VIN 7FARW2H57JE094175

The Honda Cr-V EX described here left the factory in 2018. Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre petrol engine. There is a CVT gearbox, with all-wheel drive.

The record gives the mileage as 108,944 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

This Honda Cr-V EX is recorded with front-end damage. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. A lift and a diagnostic check show what photos cannot: bent brackets behind a panel, chafed wiring or deployed airbags.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key was there when the car was checked.

The record shows a salvage title. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe. Once issued, a branded title stays with the VIN for good, and it affects registration and insurance for every later owner.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

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.

A vehicle identification number has 17 characters: the first three name the manufacturer, the next six describe the model and its specification, and the last eight identify the individual car. This car’s identification number is 7FARW2H57JE094175. 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. 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 7FARW2H57JE094175.