2013 TOYOTA PRIUS TWO VIN JTDKN3DU0D5642526

This record covers a 2013 Toyota Prius TWO, finished in grey. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. A 1.8-litre engine works together with an electric motor.

The record gives the mileage as 99,571 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. 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.

Primary damage in the record: right side. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. With damage to the right side on file, the inspection should start with the pillars, sills and doors on the right side.

When it was checked, the car could not be driven. The engine did not start. No key is recorded with the car, and a replacement has to be coded to the immobiliser. 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.

Title status in the record: salvage. A title of this kind usually means the car was written off as a total loss after damage. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

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 hybrid, the high-voltage battery and its cooling are as important as the engine, and a dealer or specialist can test the battery’s health. While the car does not run, stored fault codes and a look at the fluid are the only early evidence of how the automatic gearbox has fared.

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. The VIN on file for this car is JTDKN3DU0D5642526.

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. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN JTDKN3DU0D5642526.