2016 HONDA ODYSSEY TOURING/TOURING ELITE VIN 5FNRL5H91GB058497

This Honda Odyssey is a 2016 model. The gearbox is automatic, with front-wheel drive. Under the bonnet is a 3.5-litre petrol engine producing 280 hp.

The recorded mileage is 116,972 miles. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

Primary damage in the record: rear end. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key is on file for the car. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

A salvage title is on file for this car. Such a title means the car was declared a total loss and can return to the road only after repair and inspection.

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. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. 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. The record gives the VIN as 5FNRL5H91GB058497. 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.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. A history check on VIN 5FNRL5H91GB058497 is the place to start.