There are several things that will help you avoid getting into a major car accident or theft. One is checking the VIN on your vehicle before buying it. If you’re ever in doubt about whether a particular car has been reported stolen or involved in an accident, just check out the VIN plate on the windshield or door frame. Just like a fingerprint, each car has a unique VIN code. These numbers are used across the globe to identify vehicles in every country. But the VIN code also has a lot of other uses, such as identification and verification.
These VINs are usually found inside plastic covers that protect them from vandalism and abuse. They should be the same color as your vehicle’s paint (or black). Always check the VIN plate on an older car before buying it. If you can’t find the actual VIN plate, you should ask for the car’s title. The title will have a clear VIN printed on it. Always write down this number and check it against any online reports of stolen vehicles or car accidents in which this vehicle was involved.
To read a VIN code on your own, all you need is software like Vinpit. Keep reading for an easier way to decode your car’s VIN.
What is a VIN?
A VIN or Vehicle Identification Number is a series of 17 characters for every car, truck, motorcycle, and bus. The VIN is made up of a combination of letters and numbers that can distinguish between and identify each vehicle. This number was created in 1975, before which each year had its own VIN code format. The VIN code consists of several sections. The first section is the car’s make. The make of your car is always listed first in the VIN code. It has two numbers after it, which indicate the car model year and type of vehicle. The last part of the ID contains unique information about individual cars, such as their year of production and engine type.
A Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, is a special set of numbers assigned to every vehicle made in the United States. If you’re intrigued about how to read a VIN on your own car, here is how! With your VIN code, you can find out where a particular car is registered and what type of engine it has.
What does a VIN look like?
A five-digit VIN is eleven characters when read from left to right on the horizontal axis (as listed below). The first three numbers represent the country in which your vehicle was manufactured (3). In Canada, it is CC (2). If you have a VIN that starts with a four or five, it was made in the United States (5). If you have a six-digit VIN, then there’s a good chance the vehicle has been stolen and is being driven around by some criminals. In this case, it’s best to avoid the vehicle immediately.
The final six digits are the vehicle’s specific identification number. This number should match all of its other identification numbers throughout the body of the car. Sometimes, it is helpful to use a simple search engine like google to check this information against your VIN. If you find that your VIN is incorrect, don’t buy the car!
Fake VIN Plates: How to Spot Them
There are certain signs of a fake or altered VIN plate. Usually, this means that someone has removed and replaced the real one with a fake one (that they made themselves) or one that was stolen from another car (sounds like something Frank Tenpenny would do?). The VIN plate is made from plastic and can be easily removed. One of the most common types of fake VIN plates is those containing several letters at the end. They are made to look like numbers but usually look more like a word when they are printed out from a computer. This can signify that your car is stolen and that someone has made these fake plates for it.
How to Check Your Car’s VIN: Vinpit
If you have ever checked your vehicle’s VIN plate, you already know how to check the car’s identification number. Simply look inside the vehicle and/or on the driver’s side of the windshield or door frame. Note that newer cars have a digital VIN tag that a mobile electronic scanner can read. Another way to check a car’s VIN is to use a software like VinPit.
VinPit was presented to the market as a multifunctional, cutting-edge, one-of-a-kind, and descriptive VIN lookup tool. It quickly establishes itself as a major solution for doing a functioning VIN check and car authentication in a matter of minutes. VinPit is a platform with a highly unusual set of features to work with. People have expressed interest in other capabilities such as the VIN decoder, licence plate search, and car history reports, in addition to the VIN check.
Here’s how you can read your car’s VIN using VinPit.
After you’ve opened the official VinPit website in your browser, type in the VIN number. To get a comprehensive VIN check report that you can download or share, hit the Start Search button. Just in a matter of minutes, you will get a detailed report regarding your car’s VIN.
The Bottom Line
To summarize what we have discussed in this article, the first six numbers after a dash are for a global (or non-U.S.) model type, while the last four digits are for a vehicle’s year of manufacture and model year. This includes everything from B- and C-segment sedans to pickup trucks. In addition, there is the X suffix, which is similar in meaning to the U or F suffix but signifies that your car was manufactured in Latin America or Europe.