2017 NISSAN ROGUE SV VIN KNMAT2MV5HP525586

This Nissan Rogue SV is a 2017 model. Under the bonnet is a 2.5-litre petrol engine producing 170 hp. There is a CVT gearbox, with four-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The recorded mileage is 71,964 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

The record lists side damage as the main problem on this car. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. A key is on file for the car. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

A transfer document in place of a title is on file for this car. Without a title certificate, registering the car can take extra paperwork and checks.

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. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

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. The CVT gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating. On a car with four-wheel drive, a whine or clunk when turning tightly at low speed needs a mechanic’s attention.

A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q, which could be mistaken for digits; its 17 characters identify the maker, the model and the individual car. For this car, the VIN is KNMAT2MV5HP525586. 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.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. Look up the history of VIN KNMAT2MV5HP525586 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.