2013 FORD C-MAX SEL VIN 1FADP5BU8DL519009

The Ford C-Max SEL described here left the factory in 2013. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. A 2.0-litre engine works together with an electric motor.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 258,155 miles. 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. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it.

The main issue noted for this car is rear-end damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key was present. 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.

Title status in the record: clean. A clean title is a good sign, though it says nothing about wear, maintenance or how the car was driven.

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. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

A hybrid’s traction battery loses capacity over the years, and a health check by a specialist is the reliable way to know its condition. 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. The VIN of this Ford C-Max SEL is 1FADP5BU8DL519009. 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. 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 1FADP5BU8DL519009 is the place to start.