What is VIN. What is the VIN Number. What is Vehicle Identification Number

What is VIN?
What is VIN and what is the purpose of VIN?

VIN stands for Vehicle Identification Number. Although it is called VIN, many people call it 'VIN number', which is really not correct because of the redundancy of saying 'number' twice.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires all automobile manufacturers to issue a unique 17 digit VIN number to all vehicles produced.

The unique 17 digit VIN number contains all letters and numbers except the letters i, o, and q which apparently can be confused with the numbers 1, 0, and 9.

What is the purpose of a VIN number?
The VIN number has numerous purposes. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) can keep track of ownership and law enforcement agencies can identify stolen vehicles or parts.

It also helps automobile manufacturers keep track of vehicles for recall, upgrades, or other important information.

Furthermore, the VIN number is great for the vehicle service industry to make sure you get the right parts and service for the right vehicle - what brake system it needs, what transmission fluid is needed, and the list goes on and on.

These days, VIN is also becoming a way of tracking what happened to the vehicle during its life. The Vehicle History gives you information such as services performed, was it ever in an accident, was it stolen or salvaged, any flood or water damage, is the odometer reading correct, how many owners, vehicle usage (was it a taxi or rental?), lemon history, was the vehicle totaled or had huge insurance claim?

Where is the VIN number?
The VIN number is printed on the vehicle itself. The two most common places are on the driver's side dashboard (you can see it from the outside) and on the driver's side door jamb. Other places include on the steering column, radiator, engine block, and so on.

The VIN number is also on numerous documents, such as your sales agreement, title, insurance policy, service records, maintenance book, the original window sticker, police reports, and many more.

Can I use the VIN number to see the Window Sticker?
Yes. Sometimes it may be useful to see the original window sticker (Monroney sticker) that was on the vehicle at the dealer lot. It will tell you all the details and options that were on the vehicle when it was new. You can use Research Maniacs VIN lookup to retrieve any window sticker.

What is VIN decoding
The 17 digit VIN number gives information such as where it was manufactured, vehicle's year, make and model. Deciphering the 17 VIN digits to retrieve the wanted information is called VIN decoding. Check out Research Maniacs VIN decoder.

More information
from Research Maniacs:

VIN lookup
Use the VIN number to see the Window Sticker