Every vehicle comes with a unique code called VIN or Vehicle Identification Number. If you do not know where your car VIN is, look up on your dashboard. It will be on the front of it on the side of the driver. However, the best way to look for this VIN is through the windshield from outside your car. In addition to that, you may also find your car VIN on the door pillar latch area on the driver’s side. A motorcycle will have it printed on the neck of the steering just below the handlebars, or on the motor or on the frame of the motor. A semitrailer will have it on the front left side.

Using a VIN decoder

If you still do not know your VIN then you can look for it in the liability insurance documents or in the title of the vehicle. Once you know it, you can use a VIN lookup tool to check it out. The 17-digit code of alphabets and numbers will provide you with the information of the maker, brand, model and make. It will also tell about the body style, assembly plant, engine size, and year of manufacture. The data is furnished by NHTSA or The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A smaller VIN

The vehicle identification number may not always be of seventeen digits. It can sometimes comprise of 11 digits as well. All vehicles made after 1981 will have a seventeen-digit code and all those vehicles made prior to that will have eleven digits. Checking this code out using a VIN lookup tool is not difficult at all. Every character of each different sections denotes specific facts and information about the vehicle. It is not mandatory to know what each character in your VIN stands for. Focus on the details and leave the rest for the decoder.

Paul Petersen