Enter the VIN of the Ford you are thinking of buying and check what its records say.
A used Ford can be almost anything: a recent Escape or Explorer, a Fiesta or Focus from a few owners ago, or an older Crown Victoria, Econoline or Capri. The brand's range in our data runs to 73 models, and the model years reach back to 1920, so two cars with the same badge can have very different histories. Before you spend a weekend on viewings, it helps to know what is on record for the specific car.
A history report is built around the VIN, and the Ford VIN decoder shows what is encoded in the number itself, such as where the car was built. The report goes further and looks for records tied to that number, such as damage, mileage readings, theft entries and ownership changes, where available. It does not tell you how the car is today, so it works best alongside a look from a mechanic.
Records are shown where available. Coverage may vary by country and vehicle.
Start with the range. Our data covers body styles from Hatchback, Sedan and Wagon to SUV, Pickup, Van, Convertible, Cabriolet, Roadster and Coupe. A Fiesta, a Bronco Sport, an F-Series F-150 and an Excursion are bought for different reasons, used in different ways and priced very differently. That matters because use leaves different traces: a pickup or van may have worked for a business, while a small hatchback may have spent its life in city traffic. The report cannot tell you the use, but ownership changes and mileage readings can give you something to ask the seller about.
Mileage and damage are the two things a test drive and a few photos handle worst. A repaired car can look tidy, and an odometer figure is just a number on a display. A history report lets you compare the seller's account with recorded readings and damage entries, and a gap between the two is worth a direct question. Paperwork and a seller's story are useful, but they can differ from the records, whether by mistake or on purpose.
Borders are another thing to keep in mind. The WMI codes we know for Ford come from Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. A car built in one of those countries may have been sold and registered in another, and records can sit in different places. So coverage may vary by country and vehicle, and a thin report on an imported car is not unusual.
The cost of a check is small next to the cost of a wrong purchase, and it is easiest to run before you travel to see the car or pay a deposit. What it will not do is replace an inspection. Records say what was reported, not what the brakes, engine or underbody are like today.
Copy it from the advert, the papers or the car itself.
You continue on the report page and choose how to pay.
Compare them with the seller's account and decide with the facts in front of you.
The VIN decoder reads the manufacturer code, model year and country of manufacture of a Ford. It does not show the history of the car.
Ford VIN decoderLooking at a specific Ford model? Each page below explains how its VIN is read.
Where records are available, it can show damage entries, mileage readings, theft entries, ownership changes and technical data for the VIN. What appears depends on the country and the vehicle.
No. The number tells you what the car is and where it was built, but not what happened to it afterwards. Records tied to the VIN and a physical inspection fill in the rest.
It is a sensible order. A check before a visit or a deposit costs little compared with a wrong purchase, and it gives you specific questions to ask when you see the car.
Missing records are not proof of a problem, because coverage varies by country and vehicle. Treat it as a gap, ask the seller to explain the car's past, and rely more on an independent inspection.
Expect the history to span more than one country, and check that the VIN matches the documents. Ford VIN codes in our data come from places such as the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, Germany and the United Kingdom, so records may be spread across borders and be less complete.
Enter the VIN and continue to the report.