2016 MAZDA MAZDA3 I SPORT VIN JM1BM1U77G1331625

This record covers a 2016 Mazda MAZDA3 I Sport, finished in blue. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. The engine is a 2.0-litre petrol unit with four cylinders.

The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

The main issue noted for this car is flood damage. The damage type is a short label: the extent of the damage and the quality of any repair still have to be judged on the car. A lift and a diagnostic check show what photos cannot: bent brackets behind a panel, chafed wiring or deployed airbags.

A car that does not run has to be moved on a trailer, and its real condition is known only after a thorough assessment. An engine that will not start could have a simple electrical fault or internal damage, and only diagnostic work can tell which. A key was there when the car was checked. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

Title status in the record: salvage. 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, however sound the car looks.

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. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues.

A history check works by VIN because the number never changes, unlike registration plates and owners. The record gives the VIN as JM1BM1U77G1331625. 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.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. 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. Before making a decision about this Mazda MAZDA3 I Sport, check the history behind VIN JM1BM1U77G1331625.