2013 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 VIN 1N4AL3AP7DC190737

This record covers a 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5, finished in white. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. Power comes from a 2.5-litre petrol engine with four cylinders. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The recorded mileage is 117,629 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

When the car was recorded, it showed side damage. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. Given the kind of damage entered, a mechanic should look first at the door pillars, the sills and the side airbags.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was there when the car was checked.

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. A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. 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.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. This Nissan Altima 2.5 has the VIN 1N4AL3AP7DC190737. Scratches, fresh paint or a replaced plate around the VIN markings are warning signs in their own right.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. Before going any further with this Nissan Altima 2.5, it makes sense to look up VIN 1N4AL3AP7DC190737.