2013 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 VIN 1N4AL3AP4DN478008

This Nissan Altima 2.5 was built in 2013. There is an automatic gearbox, with front-wheel drive. Power comes from a 2.5-litre petrol engine with four cylinders.

The record gives the mileage as 157,035 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Services and inspections note the distance covered, so a car with an ordinary past builds up a trail of figures that climb year after year.

The main issue noted for this car is front-end damage. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. 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. The engine started, although the car is not confirmed as drivable. A key was present. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The record shows a salvage title. A title of this kind usually means the car was written off as a total loss after damage. 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.

Every car builds up a history from the day it is first registered: owners come and go, inspections are passed or failed, and repairs are paid for. A car’s paperwork is scattered: the registry knows about owners, the workshop about repairs and the insurance company about claims. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

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 vehicle identification number has 17 characters: the first three name the manufacturer, the next six describe the model and its specification, and the last eight identify the individual car. This car’s identification number is 1N4AL3AP4DN478008. Scratches, fresh paint or a replaced plate around the VIN markings are warning signs in their own right.

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 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 going any further with this Nissan Altima 2.5, it makes sense to look up VIN 1N4AL3AP4DN478008.