2003 FORD EXPEDITION XLT VIN 1FMPU16L73LB31645

This Ford Expedition XLT was built in 2003. The fuel is petrol. There is an automatic gearbox, with four-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

At the time of recording, the car had covered 114,154 miles. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. A car that has covered little distance for its age still ages: rubber seals, tyres and brake fluid deteriorate with time as well as use. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable. Figures carry most weight when they come from independent sources: workshops, inspection stations and past title paperwork.

When the car was recorded, it showed damage to the 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.

A car that does not run has to be moved on a trailer, and its real condition is known only after a thorough assessment. The engine could not be started. 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.

Title status in the record: salvage. A title like this is issued when repair was judged uneconomical or unsafe. If any work has been done on the car since, photos and invoices should show what was replaced.

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. No single office holds the whole story of a car: registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders each keep their own part. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

Regular oil changes and timely work on the timing belt or chain decide how well an engine copes with age. Many modern petrol engines are turbocharged and direct-injected; where they are, the turbocharger and injectors belong on a specialist’s checklist. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues. Drive to all four wheels means more to maintain: differentials and couplings have oil of their own, which some manufacturers want changed at set intervals.

Every modern car carries a 17-character VIN, and no two cars share one. The record gives the VIN as 1FMPU16L73LB31645. 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. No report is complete: a repair done privately and never claimed on insurance leaves nothing to find. 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. The history behind VIN 1FMPU16L73LB31645 is the natural starting point before any decision about this Ford Expedition XLT.