Hello,

           I'm currently in talks with buying a  low mileage 1989 escort rs turbo. It only has 2900 on clock and never had its first MOT. There's no paperwork backing the mileage up but so far everything is pointing in the right direction. Is there a way of checking if there's any ford history going of the reg/vin number ? 
 

any help would be much appreciated. 
 

thanks 

No there isn't sorry. It was all manual, hand written, in those days.

If it has no service history, it has no service history

If it still has all the grooves on the original pedal runners, all the graining on the rim of the steering wheel, no visible damage or wear to the side bolster of the driver's seat, all the graining still on the ignition key and no scratches on the lower column cowl, around the ignition switch area AND the car is in concourse condition, then start suspecting is has, indeed, only done 2,900 miles.

If none of the above is true, suspect 102,900 miles or 202,900 miles

Make sure the logbook is genuine too and that the VIN on the shell matches the VIN on the logbook and that it hasn't been welded over the top of the original VIN (Lift the carpet)

Engine number should match logbook too

3 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

No there isn't sorry. It was all manual, hand written, in those days.

If it has no service history, it has no service history

If it still has all the grooves on the original pedal runners, all the graining on the rim of the steering wheel, no visible damage or wear to the side bolster of the driver's seat, all the graining still on the ignition key and no scratches on the lower column cowl, around the ignition switch area AND the car is in concourse condition, then start suspecting is has, indeed, only done 2,900 miles.

If none of the above is true, suspect 102,900 miles or 202,900 miles

 

Hi, thanks for the reply and above info. It hasn't been taxed since Oct 1993 and interior is like brand new. I'm told it's still got the original tyres in it also. 
 

I just can't see it doing 100k in 3yrs....

Check the items I mentioned for wear.

2,900 miles should have no wear whatsoever

Check logbook is current too

Be careful, lots of ringers on these, like MK2s

If it's a high investment, take someone from the RS owner's club to view it

4 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Check logbook is current too

Be careful, lots of ringers on these, like MK2s

If it's a high investment, take someone from the RS owner's club to view it

 

If it's still on dealer plates you could check to see whether the dealership still exists - and if so, whether they have any old paperwork stored in a back room somewhere.

What would you do with it out of interest?  As much as I feel cars should be driven, one with such low mileage is probably better off dry stored in a collection or a museum.  They're only original once.