The human fingerprint is currently held as the most reliable means of identification. Everyone has a unique, distinct fingerprint that identifies them. Different kinds of information can be linked to a person’s fingerprint. Some of such information includes the person’s date of birth, house address, work portfolio, bank details, and criminal records.
In the same way, fingerprints identify human beings, a VIN, which stands for Vehicle Identification Number, is encoded to identify cars.
In this article, we will explain what a VIN is, and how to look up any VIN with a free VIN lookup tool.
Table of Contents
What is a VIN?
Simply put, a VIN of a car is a special identification code made up of a combination of alphabets and numbers that tells of the car’s history.
All alphabets can be used in a VIN, except the alphabets O, I, and Q. These are excluded because they can become easily mixed up or confused for numbers. The alphabet O, for instance, is easily mistaken for zero (0), while I (i) might be confused as one (1). Similarly, Q (q) can be confused for nine (9).
Since 1981, VIN has been designed to contain 17 characters in total. However, cars manufactured before 1981 may be less than 17 characters long. This is because, before 1981, there was no prescribed standard for VIN designation. Car manufacturers coded information about their cars anyhow they deemed fit.
Components of the VIN
Currently, VIN is divided into three parts. Each of these parts is encoded with specific information.
Let’s look at these three parts before further breaking down the information.
The first three characters of the VIN are known as the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), which contains information regarding the vehicle manufacturer.
The first character of the VIN is usually a single digit that indicates the location where the car was made. The second and third characters indicate the vehicle manufacturer.
The next five characters fall under the Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS). They identify details about the car.
These characters are the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth digits. They identify the brand, body and engine type, engine size, model, and vehicle series.
The third segment, which is the Vehicle Identifier Section contains nine characters. It serves as the car’s serial number section and helps identify the vehicle.
The vehicle Identifier Section consists of the ninth digit, which is the security code that shows that the VIN is authorized by the vehicle manufacturer. Following this is the tenth character. The tenth character represents the date set aside as the date that the version of the vehicle was made. The 11th digit indicates the plant where the car was assembled.
Finally, the last six digits of the VIN serve as the vehicle’s serial number.
Decoding the different parts of a VIN can be tedious. However, using an online VIN lookup tool will save time and turn out a more accurate result.
Why do you need a VIN?
Since the VIN contains a vehicle’s history, it can save you from getting scammed when making a car purchase.
When buying second-hand cars, you need to be extra cautious. Some fraudulent individuals run a scheme where they change the parts of defective vehicles and give those cars with bad titles a VIN from another car. By so doing, they can sell you a vehicle that may have been stolen, recalled, or defective.
For this reason, it is necessary to check the history of the vehicle that you are getting. The easiest way to carry out this check is by using online VIN lookup tools. Tools like EpicVin can help you look up information encoded in the VIN of the vehicle.
Secondly, in a situation where your car is stolen or hijacked, the police can use your VIN to track and retrieve your vehicle.
Furthermore, if your vehicle parts need replacing, and you need to know the right parts to get, you can use your VIN to check the details of your car to get the right replacement parts.
Another reason why VIN is so important is because of insurance claims. In the case of an insurance claim, your VIN will help the insurers ensure that they are paying off claims for the right vehicle.
Finally, you cannot register for car insurance without a valid VIN. The VIN will help the insurance companies assess the vehicle’s risks, history, roadworthiness, and safety.
How to Check VIN for Free
Fortunately, there are ways to look up any VIN with a free tool. One of the fastest ways to check a car’s VIN is by using EpicVin’s online VIN lookup tool.
Private individuals, businesses, insurance companies, public authorities, car collectors, and car enthusiasts use EpicVin’s free VIN lookup tool to check the age and originality of a car.
It is easy to use the EpicVin free VIN lookup service.
You will find the VIN of any car by the door jamb on the driver’s side or the dashboard on the driver’s side.
Input the 17-digit VIN into the search query, and the online VIN lookup tool will give you the details of the car’s history.
