2017 SUBARU WRX PREMIUM VIN JF1VA1E6XH9802137

This record covers a 2017 Subaru WRX Premium. The engine is a 2.0-litre petrol unit with four cylinders. There is a manual gearbox, with all-wheel drive.

The clock stood at 74,060 miles when the data was entered. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. Services and inspections note the distance covered, so a car with an ordinary past builds up a trail of figures that climb year after year. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

No primary damage is given in the record for this car, which is not the same as proof that it has never been damaged. Signs of an old repair – uneven panel gaps, overspray, a slight mismatch in paint – can still turn up at an inspection.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. A key was there when the car was checked. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The car carries a clean title. Such a title means no salvage, flood or similar mark was recorded against the car; it does not rule out damage repaired without a claim.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. A car’s paperwork is scattered: the registry knows about owners, the workshop about repairs and the insurance company about claims. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

For the engine, the service history matters most: oil changes, filters and the timing belt or chain are the entries to look for. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. A test drive says a great deal about a manual gearbox: listen for whining, feel for notchy changes and check that the clutch does not slip.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. The VIN on file for this car is JF1VA1E6XH9802137. The number in the car’s documents should match the one stamped into the body and the one on the plate at the base of the windscreen.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. A repair paid for in cash at a small workshop leaves no trace in any database, so no report can list it. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. Before making a decision about this Subaru WRX Premium, check the history behind VIN JF1VA1E6XH9802137.