2016 INFINITI QX60 BASE VIN 5N1AL0MM0GC508885

This record covers a 2016 Infiniti QX60 Base, finished in grey. The gearbox is automatic. The engine is a 3.5-litre petrol unit with six cylinders. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The car was recorded with 142,662 miles on the clock. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. 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: minor dents and scratches. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key is on file for the car.

A clean title is on file for this car. Such a title means no salvage, flood or similar mark was recorded against the car; it does not rule out damage repaired without a claim.

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. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was. On a car with four-wheel drive, a whine or clunk when turning tightly at low speed needs a mechanic’s attention.

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. This Infiniti QX60 Base has the VIN 5N1AL0MM0GC508885. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. 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 5N1AL0MM0GC508885.