2018 TOYOTA RAV4 XLE VIN JTMRFREV5JJ721781

This record covers a 2018 Toyota RAV4 XLE. The petrol engine has four cylinders and produces 176 hp. There is an automatic gearbox, with four-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The record gives the mileage as 92,062 miles. 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. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

Primary damage in the record: front end. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since.

A car that does not run has to be moved on a trailer, and its real condition is known only after a thorough assessment. The engine would not start, which can mean anything from a flat battery to serious mechanical damage. A key was noted with the car. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

The record shows a salvage title. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. 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. Drive to all four wheels means more to maintain: differentials and couplings have oil of their own, which some manufacturers want changed at set intervals.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, its identity for life, and no two cars share one. The record gives the VIN as JTMRFREV5JJ721781.

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 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. With this 2018 Toyota RAV4 XLE, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN JTMRFREV5JJ721781.