The 17 numbers in a VIN or Vehicle Identification Number will tell almost everything about your car. You will simply have to know the exact ways to decode it by using a decoder such as VIN lookup. This unique code, made up of characters and numbers, is assigned by the automobile manufacturer to each vehicle in the assembly line. Apart from the basics such as name of manufacturer, year, make and model, a Vehicle Identification Number may also reveal about the type of airbag used in the car, the size of the engine, country of make, trim level, as well as the name of the factory.
Use of it
Ideally, a VIN is the key to safety to both the buyers as well as the manufacturers. It is due to the different elements that make a VIN. The data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will help the manufacturers to see whether a car is subject to a recall and the buyer to know whether it is worth investing in. All details of the VIN are separated into different sections and are organized in groups. It may also help in fraud detection, though to a limited extent.
Elements that make a VIN
The first group consists of three numbers and letters. This ideally denotes the WMI or World Manufacturer Identifier. There are different WMI codes. You will find a list of it in the internet. Here, the first letter or digit denotes the country of origin, the second elements includes the information about the manufacturer. It may sometimes denote the first letter of the name of the manufacturer. The third digit should be read in combination of the first two numbers or letters. This indicates the type of the vehicle or the manufacturing division. The next six and eight digits indicate the vehicle description and identifier section.