2017 NISSAN PATHFINDER SV VIN 5N1DR2MN8HC629858

The Nissan Pathfinder SV described here left the factory in 2017. The drivetrain combines a CVT gearbox with front-wheel drive. Power comes from a 3.5-litre petrol engine with six cylinders. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back.

When the car was recorded, it showed missing parts. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. Whatever the cause, a diagnostic scan of the car’s electronics shows fault codes that a visual check misses.

No key was present. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The car carries a clean title. A clean title is a good sign, though it says nothing about wear, maintenance or how the car was driven.

Every car builds up a history from the day it is first registered: owners come and go, inspections are passed or failed, and repairs are paid for. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. A clean, polished car can still hide a serious accident, a flood or years of hard use.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. 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 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. This car’s identification number is 5N1DR2MN8HC629858. 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.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. 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. Before any decision, check what is known about VIN 5N1DR2MN8HC629858.