Like each person can be identified with a fingerprint, a vehicle identification number (VIN) allows for the unique identification of a motor vehicle. You may say to yourself, “wouldn’t that be a license plate?”

While it’s true that a registration plate can uniquely identify a registered vehicle at a point in time, this doesn’t necessarily hold true as time passes, since the plate is one of many vehicle details that can change.

Beyond that, what about a vehicle that is yet to get its first license plate? At that point, the VIN, which can never change, becomes the identifier.

Even a stolen vehicle that has had a bunch of its attributes changed will bear its “fingerprint” just the same.

What Is a Car’s VIN?

Now that you know a bit about what a car VIN can do, let’s explore what it looks like. First, it’s comprised of 17 characters. The vehicle manufacturer will provide it and it’s meant to be permanent and affixed to your specific vehicle.

Once a car’s model year is later than 1989, Australia requires that it carries a VIN. If you want to learn about what the policy says about the location and composition, you can check out the Australian Design Rules (ADRs).

An important tidbit to note with a VIN code is that it cannot include either “I,” “O,” or “Q,” as these could easily be misread as the numbers one or zero. On the topic of numbers, a VIN can only include the other 23 letters of the alphabet, as well as the numbers zero to nine.

Will the VIN Be in a Different Place on Any Particular Car?

Since your vehicle identification number shouldn’t be affected whether it’s a new or used car, you should be able to locate it in one of several typical places.

It will take one of two forms. The first is as a label, which is self-voiding. In other words, if you try to remove the car’s VIN, the label will be destroyed, preventing reuse. Alternatively, it may be a VIN plate, which is etched somewhere in the car’s frame.

There are a few typical places you can find the VIN hanging around. The first is in the driver’s door opening. Next, you may find it on your front windshield in the lower left corner. A car’s VIN could also be stamped into the frame under the side of the car.

Beyond these places, your car could have its VIN between the cabin and engine compartment on a panel, or even under the bonnet on a suspension tower.

You could try to check these areas to find the VIN number or you can simply look in your vehicle’s handbook, which will tell you where it is.

Under What Circumstances Would I Need My VIN?

Many people are acutely unaware of the different uses that their vehicle identification number can serve. For example, law enforcement can use the VIN to deal with a car theft report, while used car purchases could use it to understand the car’s history.

Here are a couple of circumstances in which it is incredibly useful.

Vehicle Manufacturer Recall

A VIN number can help you to tell if there is any recall that you should know about. Every so often, circumstances, such as defective components, may lead a vehicle manufacturer to initiate one.

Honda is a prominent example, as it had to address an issue where the airbags in models between a certain time were deemed dangerous.

Using a VIN lookup tool, you can tell if your car or one you’re interested in buying has any safety recalls associated with it. Typically, the manufacturer’s website will allow you to do this easily.

Stolen Car Identification

There are two distinct circumstances under which you would want a vehicle identification number to assist in locating a stolen vehicle. The first, and more obvious one, is in helping law enforcement to potentially find a recover a car that has been stolen from you.

Additionally, knowing a car that you are about to buy was reported stolen in the past can save you a lot of trouble. The last thing you want is to be driving around in a vehicle that the police are looking for.

Getting a Vehicle History Report

You can get two different and essential elements of a vehicle’s history using the VIN number. First, there’s the past ownership aspect of things. You can simply plug the number into a lookup tool to get this data.

Additionally, accidents and repair history information are accessible this way too. It’s not a bad idea to use a third-party service for this side of things just to ensure that the report is as comprehensive as possible.

Insurance Company Requirements

Remember that car insurance is a business that is built on risk evaluation. Having the correct vehicle details is non-negotiable for an insurance firm. The company will use the VIN number to access data on the car.

Even for companies that allow you to put in your car’s specs yourself, you often can’t complete the process and get the policy started until you have provided a vehicle identification number that the firm can verify.

Decoding the VIN of a Particular Vehicle

A VIN decoder is often used online to break down a car’s details. Before you get into accident and owner history though, what do the 17 characters say about the vehicle?

  • First, there’s the world manufacturer identifier (WMI) section, which is the first three characters. The first one indicates the country of manufacture, the second tells the name of the maker, and the third, when combined with the previous two, identifies the car’s type.
  • Next, you have the vehicle descriptor section. The fourth to eighth characters provide details of the model, system of restraint, body, as well as the type of engine and transmission. The ninth character is a check digit meant to preserve VIN accuracy.
  • The vehicle identifier section is the last one. It starts with the 10th character that tells the year of the car’s model. The 11th identifies the assembly plant, and the 12th – 17th form the unique serial number of the car.

Surrogate VIN Number

Japanese or older vehicles that use a chassis number for identification, for example, have no VIN number. Since a chassis number is less than 17 characters, it can’t be registered.

In these kinds of special cases, a surrogate VIN code may be established either by issuing the next available vehicle identification number or by adding a special WMI to the beginning of the chassis number while expanding its characters.

Doing this allows for registration of the car.

Will Junkyard Car Buyers Need the VIN Number of the Motor Vehicles They Purchase?

es! A junkyard will absolutely need your VIN if it’s reputable and follows the correct procedures. When you call Max Car Removals for your scrap car, we will need several details including the make, model, VIN, age, and condition.

This is only partially for cost reasons. Yes, we do need to use this info to give you top dollar for your scrap car as we always do.

However, we also need to verify that you own the car and have the right to be selling it for scrap.

Wrapping Up

Your vehicle identification number (VIN) is like a fingerprint that will stay with the car throughout its lifetime. It has a bunch of uses such as helping you get insurance, verifying recall data, identifying stolen vehicles, etc.

At Max Car Removals, we will need your VIN to help us verify your ownership and to price the sale properly.

Give us a call at 0478 500 021 if you want to get cash for your car today!