2014 FORD FOCUS SE VIN 1FADP3F23EL349723

The Ford Focus SE described here left the factory in 2014. The gearbox is automatic. Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre petrol engine. The specification is taken from the source data and has not been checked against other documents.

The clock stood at 126,155 miles when the data was entered. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

No damage type appears in the source data; that shows what was entered, not what the car has been through. Paint depth, panel gaps and the underbody show whether the body has been repaired.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was there when the car was checked. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

A clean title is on file for this car. Such a title means no salvage, flood or similar mark was recorded against the car; it does not rule out damage repaired without a claim.

A car’s history is the sum of what has happened to it since it was new, and most of it has left a trace on paper somewhere. 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.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. On a petrol engine, spark plugs, ignition coils and the cooling system are the routine items a service history should cover. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. The record gives the VIN as 1FADP3F23EL349723. 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. The absence of an entry is not proof that nothing happened; it may only mean that nobody wrote it down. 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. Before making a decision about this Ford Focus SE, check the history behind VIN 1FADP3F23EL349723.