2013 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 VIN 1N4AL3AP1DN559645

This record covers a 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. The fuel is petrol. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The car was recorded with 58,833 miles on the clock. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. Low mileage for the car’s age is good news only if older readings confirm it. Turning back an odometer takes little skill and leaves no visible trace, which is why earlier figures matter more than the display. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

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

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.

A transfer document in place of a title is on file for this car. Without a title certificate, registering the car can take extra paperwork and checks.

Behind every used car lies a string of events: who owned it and for how long, what the inspections found and which repairs and claims were made. 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.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. 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 1N4AL3AP1DN559645. 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.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. 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. A history check on VIN 1N4AL3AP1DN559645 is the place to start.