2016 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER SE VIN JA4AZ3A35GZ007692

This Mitsubishi Outlander SE is a 2016 model, finished in grey. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. The car runs on petrol.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 94,956 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

In the source data, the main issue is minor dents and scratches. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key is on file for the car. 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.

A clean title is on file for this car. 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 answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

A cold start, the colour of the exhaust smoke and any oil leaks tell a mechanic a good deal about how an engine has been treated. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. 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. On a car with four-wheel drive, a whine or clunk when turning tightly at low speed needs a mechanic’s attention.

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. This car’s identification number is JA4AZ3A35GZ007692. 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.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. 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 JA4AZ3A35GZ007692 is the place to start.