2012 NISSAN MAXIMA 3.5 S VIN 1N4AA5AP1CC840887

This Nissan Maxima 3.5 S is a 2012 model. Power comes from a 3.5-litre petrol engine with six cylinders, rated at 290 hp. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox.

The recorded mileage is 310,763 miles. The mileage is high for the car’s age, so the suspension, brakes, seats and steering wheel deserve a close look. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

No primary damage is given in the record for this car, which is not the same as proof that it has never been damaged. Signs of an old repair – uneven panel gaps, overspray, a slight mismatch in paint – can still turn up at an inspection.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key was there when the car was checked. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

Title status in the record: clean. 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. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

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. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. 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.

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. This car’s identification number is 1N4AA5AP1CC840887. 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.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. The past is on file; the car’s condition today is a job for a mechanic, who can check the structure, underbody, electrics and any repairs on a lift. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 1N4AA5AP1CC840887.