2014 FORD FUSION TITANIUM VIN 3FA6P0D90ER112440

This Ford Fusion Titanium is a 2014 model. The gearbox is automatic. The car runs on petrol. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back.

Primary damage in the record: fire. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first. Whatever the cause, a diagnostic scan of the car’s electronics shows fault codes that a visual check misses.

No key was present. Months of standing can leave a car with seized brakes and perished tyres.

The record shows a transfer document in place of a title. Without a title certificate, registering the car can take extra paperwork and checks.

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. What a car has been through is seldom visible at first glance, and a respray can make even a badly damaged car look sound.

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. With all-wheel drive, mismatched tyres can strain the centre differential or coupling, so all four should be the same make and similarly worn.

A history check works by VIN because the number never changes, unlike registration plates and owners. This Ford Fusion Titanium has the VIN 3FA6P0D90ER112440. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

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 professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. Look up the history of VIN 3FA6P0D90ER112440 first, and let what it shows guide the inspection.