2016 HONDA CR-V EX-L VIN 5J6RM4H73GL038054

This entry is for a 2016 Honda Cr-V Ex-L, finished in brown. The gearbox is continuously variable (CVT). 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 record gives the mileage as 167,618 miles. High mileage alone does not rule a car out; what matters is whether regular servicing kept pace with it. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

Primary damage in the record: left front. The damage type is a short label: the extent of the damage and the quality of any repair still have to be judged on the car. With damage to the left front on file, the inspection should start with the left front wing, the suspension on that corner and the wheel alignment.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. A key was there when the car was checked. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

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. 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.

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. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

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. Drive to all four wheels means more to maintain: differentials and couplings have oil of their own, which some manufacturers want changed at set intervals.

The VIN is a 17-character code assigned at the factory: it identifies the manufacturer, the model and its variant, and ends with a serial number unique to the car. The record gives the VIN as 5J6RM4H73GL038054. 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. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. A history check on VIN 5J6RM4H73GL038054 is the place to start.