Whether you are a seller or a buyer of an automobile, it is important to know certain things about cars. Unlike car sellers, buyers often find it hard to know the features of the model they want such as when the car was designed or how its engine works. This is where the VIN decoder comes in handy. With its detailed data, a vehicle identification number (VIN) can be your shoulder to lean on when you are making car deals. If you want to avoid deceitful deals and for your car to serve you long, you need to know how VIN works.
Understanding What VIN Number Is
Vehicle Identification Number works as the car’s unique identity code used in most modern models. While you can easily change your vehicle’s number plate, you can’t replace a VIN number. It is, therefore, something that stays with the car forever. The 17-digit number serves as your car’s DNA sequence that no other vehicle can share. Each letter and digit are a representation of the country where the car is manufactured, the maker, and the vehicle description identifying it.
Why You Need VIN
Unlike license plates, a vehicle identification number serves several purposes. You need to check your car’s VIN to verify its rightful identity and discern any suspicious issues of whether it is stolen or not. Whether you are purchasing a brand-new auto or a used one, the company has to provide a VIN lookup to offer you the information on the car, or you should order it yourself. It gives you the information on the maintenance and previous owner history, and its current liens. VIN is also used when sourcing original equipment or parts and to give traffic tickets.
You will need a VIN number to insure your car, during product recalls, and to make a claim on warranty services. The number is also necessary when you sell a second-hand car. This gives the buyer an advance warning of the issues they might face.
Since it is something permanent, manufacturers and registration companies have a database of the VIN for easy verification. If you want to avoid fraudulent scenarios such as car cloning, then VIN is your answer.
Where VIN is Located on Your Vehicle
Before you conduct a VIN lookup, you have to know how to find it. Even though VIN is something you will find in most vehicles, you find that some people don’t know its exact location. Often if you check VIN numbers, you will find them on the dashboard of your car in the engine bay. Sometimes, models have VIN near the bottom of the windscreen or on the door opening. You will easily trace it on the driver or passenger’s side of the doorframe. In the case of vintage cars, you will spot VIN on the identification plate under the hood.
What the 17 Characters Mean
Did you know that all those digits on VIN represent something? The first digit represents the county of the maker, the second and third show the manufacturer, and the fourth and eighth represents the brand, size, and engine. The ninth show the security code, the tenth is the model year, and the eleventh is the assembly plant.
The last characters represent the serial number. You can decode the VIN of your car through a manual to know more about your car model. You can also find decoding info on the website if you look up the carmaker’s name and VIN number decoder.