2008 HONDA ODYSSEY EXL VIN 5FNRL38798B057344

This Honda Odyssey EXL was built in 2008. The gearbox is automatic. Power comes from a 3.5-litre petrol engine with six cylinders, rated at 241 hp.

The car was recorded with 213,673 miles on the clock. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it.

This Honda Odyssey EXL is recorded with front-end damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

A key was present. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The record shows a salvage title. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title.

A car’s history is the sum of what has happened to it since it was new, and most of it has left a trace on paper somewhere. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. 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 history check works by VIN because the number never changes, unlike registration plates and owners. The VIN of this Honda Odyssey EXL is 5FNRL38798B057344. Scratches, fresh paint or a replaced plate around the VIN markings are warning signs in their own right.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. Look up the history of VIN 5FNRL38798B057344 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.