2018 SUBARU IMPREZA PREMIUM VIN 4S3GTAB60J3706074

This Subaru Impreza Premium is a 2018 model. Power reaches the wheels through a CVT gearbox. The car runs on petrol. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The clock stood at 116,978 miles when the data was entered. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

The main issue noted for this car is damage to the right front. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. With damage to the right front on file, the inspection should start with the right front wing, the suspension on that corner and the wheel alignment.

A note in the source data says the car did not run. An engine that will not start could have a simple electrical fault or internal damage, and only diagnostic work can tell which. No key was present. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

A salvage title is on file for this car. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe. If any work has been done on the car since, photos and invoices should show what was replaced.

A car’s history answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

When a car does not run, a compression test and the condition of the oil tell a mechanic whether the engine can be brought back to life. 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 CVT gearbox has to be assessed on a lift and with diagnostic equipment. With all-wheel drive, mismatched tyres can strain the centre differential or coupling, so all four should be the same make and similarly worn.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. The record gives the VIN as 4S3GTAB60J3706074.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 4S3GTAB60J3706074.