2015 FORD EXPLORER XLT VIN 1FM5K7D89FGC34867

The Ford Explorer XLT described here left the factory in 2015. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. Power comes from a 3.5-litre petrol engine with six cylinders, rated at 290 hp.

The car was recorded with 94,954 miles on the clock. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable.

The main issue noted for this car is front-end damage. Whether the damage has been repaired since, and how well, is not something a damage entry can show. Damage rarely stays where it is first seen: an impact can reach the mountings and airbags behind a panel, and water or fire the wiring and electronics.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was present. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

The record shows a salvage title. A title of this kind usually means the car was written off as a total loss after damage.

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. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. A car’s past rarely shows on the paintwork: a well-repaired accident or water damage that was dried out is easy to miss.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. A petrol engine in good order starts cleanly, idles evenly and pulls without hesitation. The automatic gearbox needs its fluid changed at the manufacturer’s intervals, and invoices should show that it was.

The tenth character of the VIN stands for the model year, and the eleventh for the plant that built the car. The VIN on file for this car is 1FM5K7D89FGC34867. 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. 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. Look up the history of VIN 1FM5K7D89FGC34867 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.