2014 MAZDA CX-5 SPORT VIN JM3KE2BE1E0424834

This entry is for a 2014 Mazda CX-5 Sport, finished in white. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre petrol engine producing 155 hp. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

The car was recorded with 176,419 miles on the clock. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable.

This Mazda CX-5 Sport is recorded with rear-end damage. 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. A lift and a diagnostic check show what photos cannot: bent brackets behind a panel, chafed wiring or deployed airbags.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. A key was present.

Title status in the record: salvage. 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.

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.

A cold start, the colour of the exhaust smoke and any oil leaks tell a mechanic a good deal about how an engine has been treated. 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.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. This car’s identification number is JM3KE2BE1E0424834.

Where entries exist, a VIN check can show changes of owner, past mileage readings, reported damage and whether the car is listed as stolen. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. A VIN check and a physical inspection answer different questions: the first says what happened to the car, the second what condition it is in now. A history check on VIN JM3KE2BE1E0424834 is the place to start.