2015 NISSAN SENTRA SV VIN 3N1AB7AP7FY269942

This Nissan Sentra SV is a 2015 model, finished in grey. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. The engine is a 1.8-litre petrol unit with four cylinders. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The clock stood at 144,688 miles when the data was entered. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. 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.

Primary damage in the record: front end. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Damage rarely stays where it is first seen: an impact can reach the mountings and airbags behind a panel, and water or fire the wiring and electronics.

A ‘runs and drives’ note means the car moved under its own power when it was checked. A key was there when the car was checked. 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.

The car carries a salvage title. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title.

A car’s history answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

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 3N1AB7AP7FY269942. 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. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. A history check on VIN 3N1AB7AP7FY269942 is the place to start.