2009 FORD ESCAPE XLT VIN 1FMCU93709KC58238

This entry is for a 2009 Ford Escape XLT. The fuel is petrol. Power reaches the wheels through an automatic gearbox. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The record gives the mileage as 137,655 miles. Miles and kilometres are easy to confuse, and a distance in miles looks lower than the same distance in kilometres. A single figure proves little: what makes a mileage believable is a series of readings that rise steadily over the years. Service invoices and inspection reports each carry a mileage figure, and lined up in order they show whether the clock tells the truth.

The main issue noted for this car is rollover damage. A damage type says what kind of damage the car had, not how serious it was or whether it has been repaired since. With rollover damage on file, the inspection should start with the roof, the pillars and every airbag.

A key was there when the car was checked. 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. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe.

A car’s history answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. 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.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. 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. A car with four-wheel drive has extra differentials and often a transfer case, which an inspection should cover alongside the engine and gearbox.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. For this car, the VIN is 1FMCU93709KC58238. 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 shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. The past is on file; the car’s condition today is a job for a mechanic, who can check the structure, underbody, electrics and any repairs on a lift. The history behind VIN 1FMCU93709KC58238 is the natural starting point before any decision about this Ford Escape XLT.