The Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, is the most important piece of information in any car. VIN lookup is not just important to your safety and security, it’s also important from sales perspective. The VIN tells you the vehicle’s make, model, year of manufacture, country of origin, and more. If there are inconsistencies in the VIN, this could be indicative of something being wrong with the car. As such, it’s important to know what the different parts of the VIN mean so that you can determine whether you’re buying a good quality car or not.
Where can you find the VIN?
The VIN can be found on the driver’s side dashboard and on the door jamb. The VIN can also be found on car insurance documents, vehicle registration, and transfer documents. The vehicle identification number is usually located on the chassis of the car for the purpose of identifying your car. You should make sure that you have not scratched off the VIN number in any way as this will make it hard to identify your car when getting ready to sell or trade in your car at a dealership.
VIN lookup tools are commonly used and helpful because they will show whether your vehicle has been involved in an accident or not.
Can the VIN number be decoded easily?
A VIN is like a fingerprint for your car. Every car has a unique VIN that can be used to identify it. The easiest way to find out the details of a car’s identification number is by using a free online VIN decoder. All you need to do is enter the numbers, hit search and get all the information about your vehicle within seconds.
In decoding process, you will find out the year, make and model of the car, who manufactured it, where it was made and whether or not there are any recalls associated with the vehicle.
Elements of a Vehicle Identification Number
A Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN for short, is a unique code that is assigned to every vehicle. This code contains useful information about the car, some elements of the VIN number are as follows.
1. World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI):
The first three digits represent the manufacturer of the vehicle. For example, if the VIN starts with 1 then this means the car was manufactured by Ford. Similarly, if it starts with 3 then this means the automobile was manufactured by General Motors (GM).
2. Check Digit:
The 9th digit in the VIN verifies the accuracy of all other numbers in the code. If there is an issue with any numbers in the VIN, you can check which number has been tampered with using its check digit
3. Model Year:
This indicates the year when the particular model was made. The 10th character of the 17-character VIN represents the model year of the vehicle.
4. Plant Code:
The 11th digit in the VIN tells about the manufacturer’s plant code. It also identifies the geographical location of the plant where the car/vehicle was assembled.
5. Serial Number or Production Number:
A vehicle’s 12 through 17 digits are its production line numbers or serial numbers.
So next time when you’re admiring your car, take a second to look at its VIN. You’ll be surprised by all of its hidden information.
