2016 FORD EXPLORER SPORT VIN 1FM5K8GT7GGC68832

This Ford Explorer Sport is a 2016 model, finished in white. Under the bonnet is a 3.5-litre petrol engine. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The source data puts the mileage at 160,594 miles. 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. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

The record lists front-end damage as the main problem on this car. The damage type is a short label: the extent of the damage and the quality of any repair still have to be judged on the car. Some damage shows its consequences only later: corroded connectors and electrical faults can surface months afterwards.

At the time of recording, the car ran and drove. A key is on file for the car. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

According to the source data, the car has a salvage title. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss.

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. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

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. 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 car with four-wheel drive has extra differentials and often a transfer case, which an inspection should cover alongside the engine and gearbox.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. This car’s identification number is 1FM5K8GT7GGC68832. Scratches, fresh paint or a replaced plate around the VIN markings are warning signs in their own right.

What a history report can list depends on what has been documented about the car: registrations, mileage readings, damage, branded titles and theft reports. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. However complete the paperwork, only an inspection shows the condition of the body, suspension, brakes and electrics today. For this 2016 Ford Explorer Sport, the sensible next step is a history check on VIN 1FM5K8GT7GGC68832.