VIN - Vehicle Identification
Number - Free VIN lookup
There are many good reasons for having the Vehicle Identification Number - VIN on a car checked, whether it is your current car or the car you are about to buy.
Where Can I Get My (VIN) Vehicle Identification Number Checked?
A
free online VIN
lookup can easily be done to reveal information about your
vehicle. This would include, the country of origin, the manufacturer and the
model type.
Car
insurance companies may do a
free VIN check to ascertain whether
the car has been
stolen or written off. Detailed
VIN reports can be purchased
online. These reports may include registration changes, manufacturer re-calls,
car warranty claims, and accident information.
Decoding The Vehicle Identification Number VIN
The first three digits of a
VIN represent the World Manufacturer
Identifier -
WMI. If for example the first three characters are SCC this
indicates that the vehicle was made in the UK and that the vehicle is a
Lotus car.
Digits 4 to 9 represent the Vehicle Descriptor Section - VDS. Vehicle
Descriptors vary with each manufacturer but are commonly used to describe the
vehicle body type and the engine size. The
VIN - Checkdigit value is used to verify
that the
VIN has not been tampered with and is written to position 9.
e.g. as above Check Digit value is [4]. Digits 10 to 17 represent the Vehicle
Identifier Section - VIS. Vehicle Identifiers are used to uniquely identify a
particular make of vehicle. This includes the year of manufacture and the
vehicle serial number.
Why The Vehicle
Identification Number VIN May Be Changed
Stolen Cars (see
gps - vehicle tracking system): May have their
VIN changed via
the VDS and the VIS to make the vehicle appear to be newer, or to have a more
powerful engine. The VIS may also be changed to hide the true serial number of
the vehicle.
Cloned Cars: A cloned car may have its
VIN illegally changed to that of
a car that is currently for sale on an auto dealer's forecourt. Any checks run
on a cloned car may not reveal if the car has been stolen or written off. In
each case if you notice anything unusual, such as scratch marks on the
VIN,
a worn VIN sticker, or a loose VIN plate then assume the worst. Make sure that
all VIN's attached to the car match the
Vehicle Identification Number on
the registration document.
VIN And Private Number Plates
Cars that have private number plates issued should have a Vehicle
Identification Number VIN check carried out, as an attempt may have been made
to hide the vehicle's true history. It is relatively easy to change a car's
registration/number plate. But changing a Vehicle Identification Number VIN is
mostly an activity carried out by experienced car fraudsters.
Where Can I Locate My Vehicle Identification Number VIN
A
VIN may appear in various places on a car: i) visible through the
windscreen above the dashboard on the front passenger side ii) on a plate
attached to the engine bay iii) on a label/sticker attached to the drivers door
locking column and iv) on the vehicle registration document. More than One VIN
label may appear on a car. Where more than one
VIN is present they
should be checked against each other. If two different VINs appear on the same
vehicle, walk away as this could indicate that the car has been rebuilt from
scrap or has been stolen.
Origin Of The Vehicle Identification Number VIN
In 1983 the
International
Organization for Standardization issued revisions of ISO 3779 (
Vehicle
Identification Number - VIN) and of ISO 3780 (World Manufacturer
Identifier - WMI). These standards describe a 17-digit code that is used to
uniquely identify road vehicles - where the manufacturer builds more than 500
vehicles per year. The standards have been implemented in slightly different
ways in North America and in Europe (European manufacturers are not required to
assign an assembly year to a vehicle, also Check Digit values may not be
implemented). In all cases the following letters are not allowed in a
VIN:
I, O, and Q.
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The Vehicle
Identification Number
is a 17-digit code
that uniquely identifies road vehicles
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