2017 DODGE JOURNEY SE VIN 3C4PDCAB3HT694900

This Dodge Journey SE is a 2017 model, finished in red. The gearbox is automatic, with front-wheel drive. Power comes from a 2.4-litre petrol engine with four cylinders. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The car was recorded with 122,388 miles on the clock. 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.

The record lists front-end damage as the main problem on this car. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. With front-end damage on file, the inspection should start with the radiator support, the headlamp mountings and the front crash structure.

As a non-runner, the car needs its engine, gearbox and electrics assessed before anything else. 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.

A clean title is on file for this car. With a clean title the car can be registered and insured in the usual way.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance 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.

Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. With no test drive possible, the automatic gearbox has to be assessed on a lift and with diagnostic equipment.

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 3C4PDCAB3HT694900. 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.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. 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 any decision, check what is known about VIN 3C4PDCAB3HT694900.