2014 FORD ESCAPE SE VIN 1FMCU9G94EUA42404

This entry is for a 2014 Ford Escape SE. The engine is a 2.0-litre petrol unit with four cylinders. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with four-wheel drive. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 271,163 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. The mileage is high for the car’s age, so the suspension, brakes, seats and steering wheel deserve a close look. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

When the car was recorded, it showed damage from vandalism. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. With damage from vandalism on file, the inspection should start with the glass, the locks, the paintwork and the interior.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key is on file for the car.

Title status in the record: salvage. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

A car’s history answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. 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. A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. 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 VIN of this Ford Escape SE is 1FMCU9G94EUA42404.

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 professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 1FMCU9G94EUA42404.