Read Us 24x7
Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Others
    • Digital Marketing
    • Insurance
    • Social Media
    • Business
    • COVID 19
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • World Wide
  • Submit Press Release
  • Tech Q&A
  • About
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Others
    • Digital Marketing
    • Insurance
    • Social Media
    • Business
    • COVID 19
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • World Wide
  • Submit Press Release
  • Tech Q&A
  • About
No Result
View All Result
Read Us 24x7
No Result
View All Result

How to Use Information from Vehicle Identification Number

Sayan Dutta by Sayan Dutta
June 10, 2021
in Technology
Reading Time: 5 mins read
Vehicle Identification Number
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on PinterestShare on Whatsapp

All humans have fingerprints. The fingerprint is unique to everyone and can be used to reveal one’s identity. In the same manner, cars have “fingerprints,” too.

This “fingerprint” is referred to as the VIN. The VIN can provide all sorts of information about a car if used accurately. The problem, however, is that most people do not know what the characters in the VIN stand for.

vin check

Therefore, they have no idea of when to make use of the VIN. In this guide, we will enlighten you on how to use the information you get from a VIN. To do this, we will first review the VIN and then highlight the meaning of the VIN characters.

Table of Contents

  • What is a VIN?
  • How to Decode Your Car’s VIN
    • World Manufacturer Identifiers (WMI)
    • Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)
    • Check Digit
    • Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS)
  • Using the Information on the VIN
    • Purchasing a used car
    • Selling a car
    • Servicing a car
  • Conclusion

What is a VIN?

The VIN is an abbreviation for the Vehicle Identification Number. You must have heard of people calling it the VIN number. I think this is a form of repetition, considering the letter N in the word VIN stands for number.

Anyway, the VIN is an alphanumeric code assigned by the manufacturer to every vehicle. In a real sense, there are no two vehicles that have the same VIN. Since 1981, this unique code has been used to identify cars distinctively.

The VIN is made up of 17 characters which are capital letters and numerals. The letters excluded here are Q, I, and O commonly misread for 1 and 0. Each of these characters usually holds meaning, as we shall come to see later on.

So, where do you find the VIN on a car? The placement of the VIN is mostly dependent on the car. On most passenger cars, you can find the VIN on the following car parts:

  • The interior dash on the driver’s side
  • On the side pillar on both the driver’s and passenger’s side
  • The bottom part of the windshield
  • On the front part of the engine block

If you encounter any challenges looking for the number on the above parts, there is no need to worry. You can make use of the vehicle’s registration documents too. It is hard to miss the VIN on documents like the car’s logbook and insurance documents.

How to Decode Your Car’s VIN

Many people think of the VIN as just a random combination of letters and numerals. Well, every character in the VIN holds a meaning. Understanding this meaning is what we refer to as decoding the VIN.

Decoding can be done manually. However, the drawback to this approach is that you will spend days before you get all the information. This is why most people opt to use a VIN decoder for the job.

vin decoder

With an advanced VIN decoder like VinPit, you will get all the information encoded in the VIN in minutes. With VinPit, you can learn more from that Mercedes VIN from just the comfort of your couch. By getting information from an extensive database, you are sure not to miss a thing. 

To access the information, VinPit requires you to fill in the VIN in the specified. After inputting, you now leave the site to do its magic. Some information will then pop up.

Here’s how to make sense of that information. Normally, the characters of the Vehicle Identification Number are grouped in four major categories, namely:

World Manufacturer Identifiers (WMI)

The first three characters take this first category.

The first character should tell you of the country in which the car was manufactured. If your car is manufactured in the US, you will find the numbers 1, 4, or 5. For the cars made outside America, you will find a letter.

The second character represents the manufacturer of the car. For instance, an A will stand for an Audi, B for BMW, F for Ford, and so on.

ford vin decoder

Combined with the first and second characters, the third character shows the vehicle’s manufacturing division.

Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)

The fourth to eighth characters are used for describing the vehicle. Here, you will learn of the car’s body type, restraint, engine code, among other specifications.

Check Digit

The 9th digit is what is referred to as the check digit. Using a complex mathematical formula, this number tells you whether the VIN is real or a clone.

Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS)

The last eight digits are meant for identifying the vehicle.

In the 10th character, you will come across a letter representing the exact year in which the car model was made. Cars made from the years 1981 to 2000 used the letters from B to Y. From 2001 to 2009, they started using the numbers 1 to 9 to represent the model years.

For the cars made from 2010, you will find alphabets starting from A, and this will continue through to 2030. Therefore, if your car was manufactured in 2021, you will have a letter L.

The 11th character, otherwise known as the plant code, indicates the plant in which the car was assembled.

The last six digits that are the 12th through to the 17th character make up the car’s serial number. This number is usually assigned to every car on the assembly line.

Using the Information on the VIN

So, with all this information, how can you use it to your benefit? Below, we have listed cases when you may need a VIN and how you can use it.

Purchasing a used car

Are you thinking of buying a used car? If the answer is yes, you should then do your homework to learn whether the investment is worthwhile. With the information on a VIN, you will know all the features of the vehicle.

What is more, you will get access to information about the accidents, repairs, and past vehicle ownership. This helps you avoid investing in a car that has defects or has been stolen.

Selling a car

If you are selling a vehicle, this information can go a long way in making that sale go smoothly. This is because you will get a heads up on all the potential questions the buyer might ask you. In preparation, you will thus tackle these questions ahead of time.

Servicing a car

At one point or another, you might need to purchase a spare part for the car. With the VIN, one can understand the type of engine or the transmission system that the car requires. This helps you get the appropriate part for that vehicle.

Conclusion

As we conclude, we have seen that the VIN is a number that any car owner or dealer should know. The VIN carries valuable information about a vehicle. This information varies from the car’s model, engine type, and country of manufacture to even the car’s serial number.

To access all this information, all you need is a reputable VIN decoder. With a VIN decoder like Vin Pit, you can learn all there is to know about the car in minutes. With the above information, we are confident that you now know how to use the information on the VIN.

ShareTweetPinSend
Sayan Dutta

Sayan Dutta

I am glad you came over here. So, you want to know a little bit about me. I am a passionate digital marketer, blogger, and engineer. I have knowledge & experience in search engine optimization, digital analytics, google algorithms, and many other things.

Related Posts

500 Mbps
Technology

Is 500 Mbps Internet Speed Really That Fast?

February 2, 2023
att email login
Technology

AT&T Email Login | Easy Steps to Sign in to att.net [2023]

January 31, 2023
TP-Link Router Setup
Technology

6-Step Ultimate TP-Link Router Setup Guide

January 31, 2023
Employee Engagement
Technology

Top Key Metrics To Measure Employee Engagement And Performance In 2023!

January 31, 2023
Modern Setup Host High CPU Usage
Technology

Modern Setup Host High CPU Usage: A Comprehensive Guide [2023]

January 30, 2023
Unable to Initialize Steam API Error
Technology

Troubleshooting ‘Unable to Initialize Steam API Error’

January 28, 2023
Next Post
Artificial Intelligence

7 Surprising Ways Artificial Intelligence Could Shape the Casino Industry

Recommended

500 Mbps

Is 500 Mbps Internet Speed Really That Fast?

February 2, 2023
Sons of The Forest

Sons of The Forest Release Date – Here’s What New in February 2023

February 1, 2023
att email login

AT&T Email Login | Easy Steps to Sign in to att.net [2023]

January 31, 2023
TP-Link Router Setup

6-Step Ultimate TP-Link Router Setup Guide

January 31, 2023
Employee Engagement

Top Key Metrics To Measure Employee Engagement And Performance In 2023!

January 31, 2023
p2p

15 Best Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing Programs for Lightning-Fast Transfers

January 31, 2023

About Us

Read Us 24×7 comes with the Latest News around the Globe. From Business to Entertainment, from Sports to Technologies you will find everything right over here.

Mail ID – [email protected]

google-play-badge

Is 500 Mbps Internet Speed Really That Fast?

Sons of The Forest Release Date – Here’s What New in February 2023

AT&T Email Login | Easy Steps to Sign in to att.net [2023]

6-Step Ultimate TP-Link Router Setup Guide

Top Key Metrics To Measure Employee Engagement And Performance In 2023!

15 Best Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing Programs for Lightning-Fast Transfers

google news

Protected by Copyscape DMCA.com Protection Status

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • Write For Us
  • Submit Press Release

Copyright © 2022 Read Us 24x7

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Others
    • Digital Marketing
    • Insurance
    • Social Media
    • Business
    • COVID 19
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • World Wide
  • Submit Press Release
  • Tech Q&A
  • About

Copyright © 2022 Read Us 24x7