1989 FORD MUSTANG LX VIN 1FABP44A5KF195565

This record covers a 1989 Ford Mustang LX, finished in grey. There is an automatic gearbox, with rear-wheel drive. The car runs on petrol. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The record gives the mileage as 66,822 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 modest for the car’s age, but long spells of standing bring their own wear, from seized brakes to dried-out seals. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it.

No damage type appears in the source data; that shows what was entered, not what the car has been through. Signs of an old repair – uneven panel gaps, overspray, a slight mismatch in paint – can still turn up at an inspection.

A car that does not run has to be moved on a trailer, and its real condition is known only after a thorough assessment. The engine would not start, which can mean anything from a flat battery to serious mechanical damage. A key is on file for the car. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The record shows a clean title. With a clean title the car can be registered and insured in the usual way.

Every car builds up a history from the day it is first registered: owners come and go, inspections are passed or failed, and repairs are paid for. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

For the engine, the service history matters most: oil changes, filters and the timing belt or chain are the entries to look for. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. The record gives the VIN as 1FABP44A5KF195565.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. 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 1FABP44A5KF195565 is the place to start.