Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Vehicle Identification Number shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Vehicle Identification Number offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Vehicle Identification Number at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Vehicle Identification Number? Wrong! If the Vehicle Identification Number is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Vehicle Identification Number then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Vehicle Identification Number? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Vehicle Identification Number and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Vehicle Identification Number wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Vehicle Identification Number then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Vehicle Identification Number site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Vehicle Identification Number, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Vehicle Identification Number, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) are used to uniquely identify
motor vehicles. Prior to
1980 there was not an accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers used different formats. Modern day VINs consist of 17 characters that do not include the letters I, O or Q.
Parts of the VIN
Modern Vehicle Identification Number systems are based on two related standards originally issued by the
International Organization for Standardization in 1979 and 1980, ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but somewhat different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the
European Union and the
United States of America United States Federal VIN Requirements (Title 49, Chapter V, Part 565).
The VIN is composed of the following sections:
{]| colspan="6" | #Vehicle Descriptor Section| colspan="8" |
#Vehicle Identifier Section|-! North American / EU> 500 vehicles / year| colspan="3" |
#World Manufacturer Identifier| colspan="5" | #Vehicle Descriptor Section|
#Check digit calculation|
#Model year encoding| #Vehicle Identifier Section| colspan="8" |
#Vehicle Identifier Section|-! North American / EU< 500 vehicles / year| colspan="3" |
#World Manufacturer Identifier| colspan="5" | #Vehicle Descriptor Section|
#Check digit calculation|
#Model year encoding| #Vehicle Identifier Section| colspan="3" |
#World Manufacturer Identifier| colspan="3" | #Vehicle Identifier Section|}
World Manufacturer Identifier
The first three characters uniquely identify the
manufacturer of the vehicle using the
World Manufacturer Identifier or
WMI code. A manufacturer that builds fewer than 500 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within 1G (assigned to
General Motors Corporation in the United States), 1G1 represents Chevrolet passenger cars; 1G2,
Pontiac passenger cars; and 1GC, Chevrolet
trucks.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers. ISO 3780 registration authority
The first character of the WMI is the region in which the manufacturer is located. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture.
Vehicle Descriptor Section
The 4th through 9th positions in the VIN are the
Vehicle Descriptor Section or
VDS. This is used, according to local regulations, to identify the vehicle type and may include information on the
automobile platform used, the model, and the
car body styles. Each manufacturer has a unique system for using this field.
North American Check Digits
One element that is fairly consistent is the use of position 9 as a
#Check digit calculation, compulsory for vehicles in North America and used fairly consistently even outside this rule.
Vehicle Identifier Section
The 10th through 17th positions are used as the
Vehicle Identifier Section or
VIS. This is used by the manufacturer to identify the individual vehicle in question. This may include information on options installed or engine and transmission choices, but often is a simple sequential number. In fact, in North America, the last five digits must be numeric.
North American Model Year
One consistent element of the VIS is character number 10, which is required (in North America) to encode the #Model year encoding of the vehicle.
North American Plant Code
Another consistently-used element (which is compulsory in North America) is the use of the 11th character to encode the factory of manufacture of the vehicle. Although each manufacturer has their own set of plant codes, their location in the VIN is standardized.
Model year encoding
Besides the three letters that are not allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used for the year code. Note that the year code can be the calendar year in which a vehicle is built, or a model or type year allocated by the manufacturer. The year 1980 was encoded by some manufacturers, especially General Motors and Chrysler, as "A" (since the 17-digit VIN wasn't mandatory until 1981, and the "A" or zero was in the manufacturer's pre-1981 placement in the VIN), yet Ford Motor Company and American Motors Corporation still used a zero for 1980. Subsequent years increment through the allowed letters, so that "Y" represents the year 2000. 2001 through 2009 are encoded as the digits 1 through 9, and subsequent years are encoded as "A", "B", "C", etc.
{|class="wikitable"!Code !! Year !! Code !! Year !! Code !! Year !! Code !! Year|-| A || 1980 || L || 1990 || Y || 2000 || A || 2010|-| B || 1981 || M || 1991 || 1 || 2001 || B || 2011|-| C || 1982 || N || 1992 || 2 || 2002 || C || 2012|-| D || 1983 || P || 1993 || 3 || 2003 || D || 2013|-| E || 1984 || R || 1994 || 4 || 2004 || E || 2014|-| F || 1985 || S || 1995 || 5 || 2005 || F || 2015|-| G || 1986 || T || 1996 || 6 || 2006 || G || 2016|-| H || 1987 || V || 1997 || 7 || 2007 || H || 2017|-| J || 1988 || W || 1998 || 8 || 2008 || J || 2018|-| K || 1989 || X || 1999 || 9 || 2009 || K || 2019|}
Check Digit Calculation
If trying to validate a VIN with a check digit, first either: (a) remove the check digit for the purpose of calculation; or (b) utilize the Zero-product property in the weight to cancel it out. You should later compare the old value of the check-bit, with the new to ensure the VIN's validity.
Overview of the process
An overview of the process for calculating a VIN's check digit is as follows:
Remove all of the letters from the VIN by transliteration them with their numeric counterparts. Numerical counterparts can be found in the table below.
Multiply this new number, the yield of the transliteration, with the assigned weight. Weights can be found in the table below.
Product (mathematics) the resulting Product (mathematics).
Divide the sum of the products by 11, to find the remainder.
If the remainder is 10 replace it with X.
Transliterating the numbers
Transliteration consists of removing all of letters and substituting them with their appropriate numerical counterparts. These numerical alternatives can be found in the following chart.
I,
O and
Q are not allowed, and can not exist in a valid VIN; for the purpose of this chart, they have been filled in with
N/A (not applicable). Numerical digits use their own values.
{| class="prettytable"|+ Transliteration key: values for VIN Decoding|
A: 1 ||
B: 2 ||
C: 3 ||
D: 4 ||
E: 5 ||
F: 6 ||
G: 7 ||
H: 8 ||
I: |-|
J: 1 ||
K: 2 ||
L: 3 ||
M: 4 ||
N: 5 ||
O: ||
P: 7 ||
Q: ||
R: 9|-||||
S: 2 ||
T: 3 ||
U: 4 ||
V: 5 ||
W: 6||
X: 7 ||
Y: 8 ||
Z: 9|}
S is 2, and not 1. There is no left-alignment linearity.
Weights used in calculation
The following is the weight factor for each position in the VIN. The 9th position is that of the check digit. It has been substituted with a 0, which will cancel it out in the multiplication step.
{| class="prettytable"|-!Position||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9||10||11||12||13||14||15||16||17|-!Weight||8||7||6||5||4||3||2||10||0||9||8||7||6||5||4||3||2|}
Worked example
Consider the hypothetical VIN 1M8GDM9A_KP042788, where the underscore will be the check digit.
{| class="prettytable"! VIN|| 1 || M || 8 || G || D || M || 9 || A || || K || P || 0 || 4 || 2 || 7 || 8 || 8|-! Value|| 1 || 4 || 8 || 7 || 4 || 4 || 9 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 7 || 0 || 4 || 2 || 7 || 8 || 8|-! Weight|| 8 || 7 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 3 || 2 || 10 || 0 || 9 || 8 || 7 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 3 || 2|-! Products|| 8 || 28 || 48 || 35 || 16 || 12 || 18 || 10 || 0 || 18 || 56 || 0 || 24 || 10 || 28 || 24 || 16|}
The VIN's Value is calculated from the above table, this number will be used in the rest of the calculation.
Copy over the weights from the above table.
The products row is a result of the multiplication of the vertical columns: Value and Weight.
The products (8,28,48,35..24,16) are all added together to yield a sum of 351
One of the following operations:
- 351 % 11 = 10
- 351/11 = 10 10/11
- 351/11 = 10.0909-
The check digit is 10, so it has been transliterated into X.
With a check digit of 'X' the VIN: 1M8GDM9A
?KP042788 is written with the check bit as: 1M8GDM9A
XKP042788.
See also
References
External links
- VIN entry in the National Transportation Library FAQ
-
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) are used to uniquely identify motor vehicles. Prior to 1980 there was not an accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers used different formats. Modern day VINs consist of 17 characters that do not include the letters I, O or Q.
Parts of the VIN
Modern Vehicle Identification Number systems are based on two related standards originally issued by the International Organization for Standardization in 1979 and 1980, ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but somewhat different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the
United States of America United States Federal VIN Requirements (Title 49, Chapter V, Part 565).
The VIN is composed of the following sections:
{]| colspan="6" | #Vehicle Descriptor Section| colspan="8" |
#Vehicle Identifier Section|-! North American / EU> 500 vehicles / year| colspan="3" |
#World Manufacturer Identifier| colspan="5" | #Vehicle Descriptor Section|
#Check digit calculation| #Model year encoding| #Vehicle Identifier Section| colspan="8" | #Vehicle Identifier Section|-! North American / EU< 500 vehicles / year| colspan="3" |
#World Manufacturer Identifier| colspan="5" | #Vehicle Descriptor Section| #Check digit calculation|
#Model year encoding|
#Vehicle Identifier Section| colspan="3" | #World Manufacturer Identifier| colspan="3" | #Vehicle Identifier Section|}
World Manufacturer Identifier
The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the
World Manufacturer Identifier or
WMI code. A manufacturer that builds fewer than 500 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within 1G (assigned to General Motors Corporation in the
United States), 1G1 represents
Chevrolet passenger cars; 1G2,
Pontiac passenger cars; and 1GC, Chevrolet trucks.
The
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers. ISO 3780 registration authority
The first character of the WMI is the region in which the manufacturer is located. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture.
Vehicle Descriptor Section
The 4th through 9th positions in the VIN are the
Vehicle Descriptor Section or
VDS. This is used, according to local regulations, to identify the vehicle type and may include information on the automobile platform used, the model, and the car body styles. Each manufacturer has a unique system for using this field.
North American Check Digits
One element that is fairly consistent is the use of position 9 as a
#Check digit calculation, compulsory for vehicles in North America and used fairly consistently even outside this rule.
Vehicle Identifier Section
The 10th through 17th positions are used as the
Vehicle Identifier Section or
VIS. This is used by the manufacturer to identify the individual vehicle in question. This may include information on options installed or engine and transmission choices, but often is a simple sequential number. In fact, in North America, the last five digits must be numeric.
North American Model Year
One consistent element of the VIS is character number 10, which is required (in North America) to encode the
#Model year encoding of the vehicle.
North American Plant Code
Another consistently-used element (which is compulsory in North America) is the use of the 11th character to encode the factory of manufacture of the vehicle. Although each manufacturer has their own set of plant codes, their location in the VIN is standardized.
Model year encoding
Besides the three letters that are not allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used for the year code. Note that the year code can be the calendar year in which a vehicle is built, or a model or type year allocated by the manufacturer. The year 1980 was encoded by some manufacturers, especially General Motors and Chrysler, as "A" (since the 17-digit VIN wasn't mandatory until 1981, and the "A" or zero was in the manufacturer's pre-1981 placement in the VIN), yet
Ford Motor Company and
American Motors Corporation still used a zero for 1980. Subsequent years increment through the allowed letters, so that "Y" represents the year 2000. 2001 through 2009 are encoded as the digits 1 through 9, and subsequent years are encoded as "A", "B", "C", etc.
{|class="wikitable"!Code !! Year !! Code !! Year !! Code !! Year !! Code !! Year|-| A || 1980 || L || 1990 || Y || 2000 || A || 2010|-| B || 1981 || M || 1991 || 1 || 2001 || B || 2011|-| C || 1982 || N || 1992 || 2 || 2002 || C || 2012|-| D || 1983 || P || 1993 || 3 || 2003 || D || 2013|-| E || 1984 || R || 1994 || 4 || 2004 || E || 2014|-| F || 1985 || S || 1995 || 5 || 2005 || F || 2015|-| G || 1986 || T || 1996 || 6 || 2006 || G || 2016|-| H || 1987 || V || 1997 || 7 || 2007 || H || 2017|-| J || 1988 || W || 1998 || 8 || 2008 || J || 2018|-| K || 1989 || X || 1999 || 9 || 2009 || K || 2019|}
Check Digit Calculation
If trying to validate a VIN with a check digit, first either: (a) remove the check digit for the purpose of calculation; or (b) utilize the
Zero-product property in the weight to cancel it out. You should later compare the old value of the check-bit, with the new to ensure the VIN's validity.
Overview of the process
An overview of the process for calculating a VIN's check digit is as follows:
Remove all of the letters from the VIN by transliteration them with their numeric counterparts. Numerical counterparts can be found in the table below.
Multiply this new number, the yield of the transliteration, with the assigned weight. Weights can be found in the table below.
Product (mathematics) the resulting Product (mathematics).
Divide the sum of the products by 11, to find the remainder.
If the remainder is 10 replace it with X.
Transliterating the numbers
Transliteration consists of removing all of letters and substituting them with their appropriate numerical counterparts. These numerical alternatives can be found in the following chart.
I,
O and
Q are not allowed, and can not exist in a valid VIN; for the purpose of this chart, they have been filled in with
N/A (not applicable). Numerical digits use their own values.
{| class="prettytable"|+ Transliteration key: values for VIN Decoding|
A: 1 ||
B: 2 ||
C: 3 ||
D: 4 ||
E: 5 ||
F: 6 ||
G: 7 ||
H: 8 ||
I: |-|
J: 1 ||
K: 2 ||
L: 3 ||
M: 4 ||
N: 5 ||
O: ||
P: 7 ||
Q: ||
R: 9|-||||
S: 2 ||
T: 3 ||
U: 4 ||
V: 5 ||
W: 6||
X: 7 ||
Y: 8 ||
Z: 9|}
S is 2, and not 1. There is no left-alignment linearity.
Weights used in calculation
The following is the weight factor for each position in the VIN. The 9th position is that of the check digit. It has been substituted with a 0, which will cancel it out in the multiplication step.
{| class="prettytable"|-!Position||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9||10||11||12||13||14||15||16||17|-!Weight||8||7||6||5||4||3||2||10||0||9||8||7||6||5||4||3||2|}
Worked example
Consider the hypothetical VIN 1M8GDM9A_KP042788, where the underscore will be the check digit.
{| class="prettytable"! VIN|| 1 || M || 8 || G || D || M || 9 || A || || K || P || 0 || 4 || 2 || 7 || 8 || 8|-! Value|| 1 || 4 || 8 || 7 || 4 || 4 || 9 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 7 || 0 || 4 || 2 || 7 || 8 || 8|-! Weight|| 8 || 7 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 3 || 2 || 10 || 0 || 9 || 8 || 7 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 3 || 2|-! Products|| 8 || 28 || 48 || 35 || 16 || 12 || 18 || 10 || 0 || 18 || 56 || 0 || 24 || 10 || 28 || 24 || 16|}
The VIN's Value is calculated from the above table, this number will be used in the rest of the calculation.
Copy over the weights from the above table.
The products row is a result of the multiplication of the vertical columns: Value and Weight.
The products (8,28,48,35..24,16) are all added together to yield a sum of 351
One of the following operations:
- 351 % 11 = 10
- 351/11 = 10 10/11
- 351/11 = 10.0909-
The check digit is 10, so it has been transliterated into X.
With a check digit of 'X' the VIN: 1M8GDM9A
?KP042788 is written with the check bit as: 1M8GDM9A
XKP042788.
See also
References
External links
- VIN entry in the National Transportation Library FAQ
-
