2015 FORD ESCAPE TITANIUM VIN 1FMCU0JX0FUB39006

The Ford Escape Titanium described here left the factory in 2015. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with front-wheel drive. Under the bonnet is a 1.6-litre petrol engine producing 178 hp. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The source data puts the mileage at 131,219 miles. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable. Title paperwork often notes the mileage at each change of owner, which makes it a useful cross-check.

Primary damage in the record: left front. 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.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key was noted with the car. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

The car carries a salvage title. Titles of this type are issued to cars declared a total loss. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title, however sound the car looks.

Registrations, changes of owner, inspection results and accident claims together make up what is called a car’s history. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating.

Stamped into the body and printed on a plate, the VIN is the one identifier that stays with a car through every owner, registration and repair. This car’s identification number is 1FMCU0JX0FUB39006. 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.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. 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. Before making a decision about this Ford Escape Titanium, check the history behind VIN 1FMCU0JX0FUB39006.