2013 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER SPORT SUPERCHARGED VIN SALSP2E42DA788350

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport Supercharged described here left the factory in 2013. The petrol engine has eight cylinders and produces 510 hp. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. The specification is taken from the source data.

The source data puts the mileage at 107,049 miles. 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. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

This Land Rover Range Rover Sport Supercharged is recorded with damage to the left rear. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. 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 is on file for the car. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

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. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

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. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. 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. On a car with all-wheel drive, a whine or clunk when turning tightly at low speed needs a mechanic’s attention.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, its identity for life, and no two cars share one. The record gives the VIN as SALSP2E42DA788350. 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 repair paid for in cash at a small workshop leaves no trace in any database, so no report can list it. 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 SALSP2E42DA788350 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.