2018 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID XLE VIN JTMRJREV5JD221360

This record covers a 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE, finished in silver. The powertrain is hybrid. There is a CVT gearbox, with four-wheel drive. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The clock stood at 137,371 miles when the data was entered. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. High mileage alone does not rule a car out; what matters is whether regular servicing kept pace with it. Services and inspections note the distance covered, so a car with an ordinary past builds up a trail of figures that climb year after year.

This Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE is recorded with damage to the left side. 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. Whatever the cause, a diagnostic scan of the car’s electronics shows fault codes that a visual check misses.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was there when the car was checked.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

A hybrid adds a traction battery to the engine, and its condition deserves a check of its own. The CVT gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating. 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.

A vehicle identification number has 17 characters: the first three name the manufacturer, the next six describe the model and its specification, and the last eight identify the individual car. The VIN of this Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE is JTMRJREV5JD221360. 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 shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. Look up the history of VIN JTMRJREV5JD221360 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.