2021 FORD EXPLORER ST VIN 1FM5K8GCXMGA05634

This Ford Explorer ST was built in 2021. Power comes from a 3.0-litre petrol engine with six cylinders. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with four-wheel drive.

The source data puts the mileage at 81,149 miles. The figure is in miles and needs converting before it is compared with kilometres: one mile is about 1.6 km. A car that has covered this much distance for its age has worked hard, and a mechanic should judge the wear accordingly. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

The record lists damage to the right rear as the main problem on this car. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. Given the kind of damage entered, a mechanic should look first at the right rear quarter panel, the suspension on that corner and the boot floor.

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

A salvage title is on file for this car. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

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. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

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. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. Automatic transmissions, CVTs included, are expensive to repair, so the test drive should include pulling away from a standstill and a stretch at motorway speed.

A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q, which could be mistaken for digits; its 17 characters identify the maker, the model and the individual car. The record gives the VIN as 1FM5K8GCXMGA05634. 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.

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 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. With this 2021 Ford Explorer ST, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN 1FM5K8GCXMGA05634.