2023 FORD ESCAPE ACTIVE VIN 1FMCU0GN7PUB36188

This entry is for a 2023 Ford Escape Active. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. Power comes from a 1.5-litre petrol engine with three cylinders, rated at 180 hp.

The car was recorded with 30,120 miles on the clock. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable.

Primary damage in the record: rear end. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work.

The record notes that the car ran and drove. A key was noted with 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.

A salvage title is on file for this car. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss. Once issued, a branded title stays with the VIN for good, and it affects registration and insurance for every later owner.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

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 record gives the VIN as 1FMCU0GN7PUB36188. The number in the car’s documents should match the one stamped into the body and the one on the plate at the base of the windscreen.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. The past is on file; the car’s condition today is a job for a mechanic, who can check the structure, underbody, electrics and any repairs on a lift. Look up the history of VIN 1FMCU0GN7PUB36188 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.