How to find out a car's equipment by VIN code for free

Often there is a need to find out the car engine model. This information may be needed when purchasing a car or when repairing it - to select the necessary spare parts for the engine. You can find out which engine is on the car by the VIN code of the vehicle. We will tell you how to do this in this article.

The VIN is the vehicle's unique identification number. This marking includes 17 characters - numbers and Latin letters, with the exception of I, O, Q (due to the similarity with the numbers 1 and 0), and contains the following information:

1. Vehicle manufacturer (first 3 characters);
2. Data about the car itself (4-9 characters);
3. Manufacturer, year of manufacture, serial number of the car (unique 10-17 characters).

The identification number (VIN) is indicated in the documents for the car - in the vehicle passport and registration certificate. It can also be found on the body of the car itself.

Decoding the encoding

If you want to buy a quality car from a specific manufacturer, you can find out everything about it at the dealership or find out this fact yourself. The first three digits of the VIN - the code of the vehicle you are purchasing - will help you with this.

And so, the first sign indicates the state in which the car was assembled, and off we go:

• 2 - Canada
• 1,4,5 - USA
• 9 - Brazil
• 3 - Mexico
• J - Japan
• K - Korea
• Z - Italy
• V - Spain
• W - Germany
• S - England
• Y - Sweden.

The second symbol hides the car brand:

• 1 - Chevrolet
• 2&5 — Pontiac
• 3 - Oldsmobile
• 4 - Buick
• 6 - Cadillac
• 7 - GM Canada
• 8 - Saturn
• A - Audi, Land Rover, Jaguar
• D - Dodge
• L - Lincoln
• N - Infiniti, Nissan
• O - Opel
• T – Toyota, Lexus
• N - Honda, Acura
• F - Ferrari, Ford, Subaru, Fiat
• M - Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Skoda, Mercury
• A - Mitsubishi (USA)
• V - Volvo, Volkswagen
• D - Mercedes-Benz
• B - BMW
• S - Suzuki, Isuzu
• G - General Motors
• C - Chrysler.

By the third sign you can find out about the type of car. The vehicle description is under 2,4,5,6,7,8 and 9 characters. From all these numbers and symbols, every buyer or vehicle owner will be able to find out information about the engine type, body series and car model. From the tenth to the seventeenth character you can find out not only where the car was assembled, but also its technical characteristics and year of manufacture. For example, the symbol A means that the car was produced in 1980 (B - 1981, C - 1983, E - 1984, etc.)

What exactly can be determined using a VIN?

It is best to check the vehicle's VIN before inspecting it - you can simply call the seller and clarify the identification number (he should not hide this information if there are no hidden problems).

You can determine equipment in several ways:

• Doing it yourself is the most difficult and time-consuming method. You can collect information only after determining the basic characteristics of the vehicle. At the same time, you will have to find and “shovel” a lot of information on the Internet - from various online catalogs to various collections of tables. This may take more than one day, and the result does not always meet expectations
• Through the online service "AutoHistory" - the easiest and fastest method to find out the vehicle's equipment by VIN. You don’t have to study and collect data from different sources, you just need to enter the identification number and “it’s in the bag” - the report will be generated within a few minutes. The service is quite inexpensive, which makes checking accessible to everyone. At the same time, in addition to equipping the vehicle, you will learn the most complete history of its operation (criminal, banking, judicial, customs).

By checking the equipment of your car using our website, you can find out the following information:

• Model generation, start of production and model year.
• Engine characteristics - series, type, volume, power, torque.
• Gearbox type.
• Body type, body color.

An example and report is presented below:

VIN code value

Beginners may not know that manufacturers stamp the VIN code on the front left pillar of the vehicle body or on the left side of the instrument panel. Therefore, it can be easily recognized even through the windshield of a car. Such a code for a car has the same meaning as fingerprints for a person. A car's title can be lost, but the VIN is applied to the car at the factory and remains with it until the end of its service life. This “fingerprint” helps the owner to look for spare parts for the car, and traffic police inspectors to look for stolen vehicles.

Where to look for the VIN number?

Since there are no strict requirements for placing the VIN code on a car, it can be located in different places in different brands and models of cars (the manufacturer usually indicates these places in the documents for the car). Most often, the code is indicated under the hood near the windshield, and can also be located:

• at the junction of the dashboard and windshield on the driver's side;
• on the bottom of the pillar, behind the driver's seat (the marking is visible when the door is open);
• on the chassis;
• on the side members.

Decoding the VIN code of a car

A modern car VIN code consists of seventeen characters. These symbols will mean nothing to an inexperienced car buyer. Nevertheless, all seventeen symbols are divided into three components:

- world index of the automobile manufacturer WMI (World Manufacturers Identification) - the first three characters;

- descriptive part - VDS (Vehicle Description Section) - from the 4th to the 9th characters;

— — descriptive part — VIS (Vehicle Identification Section) — the rest of the symbols.

We are interested in the first part of the symbols - the first three symbols, which are called World Manufacturers Identification or the world index of the automobile manufacturer. Moreover, the first character is the geographical area, the second character is the country of the manufacturer, and the third character is the manufacturer code.

Car manufacturer country codes

The table below shows the classification of all manufacturing countries according to the codes assigned to them.

Some sellers of used cars often embellish the existing reality in order to inflate their real value. For example, when buying an old Toyota, you may hear from its owner that it is a real “Japanese”, so it will last for decades.

But is this really so? Take my word for it? No - the information must be verified. After all, today you can easily and quickly find out the country of manufacture by VIN code.

How to find out the vehicle's equipment by VIN code?

Many car enthusiasts do not realize how important it is to check the factory equipment of a car using the VIN code before purchasing it, even to determine the country of assembly. More experienced car owners will definitely answer that this will not only help make the right choice, but also save money if inconsistencies are discovered between the original equipment, documentation data and the information of the real owner. Also, the check will save you from such troubles as, for example, purchasing a “double” or a stolen car with a wrong number.

How can you find out the country of manufacture using the VIN?

VIN code is a unique identification number of a vehicle (VV), consisting of 17 characters and 3 parts (WMI, VDS and VIS). Information about the country of manufacture is contained in the first part - World Manufacturers Identification.

WMI consists of 3 characters:

• The first is the country of origin. For example, Japan (J), Germany (W), USA (1, 4, 5), etc.
• The second is an automobile concern. For example, Mercedes Benz (D), BMW (B), Nissan and Infiniti (N), etc.
• The third is the type of vehicle.

There are often situations when the VIN code of car brands such as Hyundai, Ford, Kia and many others, copied from the registration certificate, is not recognized. This happens because the first character is X, which identifies the fact that the vehicle was produced at Russian enterprises. In such cases, the identification number corresponding to the world category can be found on the body.

There is another way to find out the country of the car’s manufacturer by VIN code - look it up online on the AutoHistory website. In this case, in addition to general information, you will receive a report with a complete operating history of the vehicle, which will allow you to avoid buying a car with hidden problems.

What information about the configuration can be obtained by VIN

VIN code is a unique combination of Latin letters and Arabic numbers that is assigned to each vehicle. It contains comprehensive information about the machine:

• the first three characters determine the country of origin (therefore they are the same for most vehicles within a particular state);
• Next comes information about the car itself (make, model);
• the ninth in a row is a control character, by which you can determine whether the code has been broken;
• the remaining symbols also contain data about the car and its technical characteristics.

It is the last characters that you need to pay attention to when checking the equipment according to the VIN code.

Using the unique number you can find out:

• exact release date of the vehicle;
• make and model;
• body type;
• engine information (type, power, volume);
• production series;
• transmission type and number of gears;
• environmental class;
• air conditioning option;
• the country for use in which the vehicle was manufactured;
• information about paint coating.

Thus, the VIN number contains a lot of useful information. Checking it is mandatory before purchasing a used car. It allows you to find out two important things: whether there have been any design changes and whether the vehicle is sold in the same form in which it left the factory.

How to check through the online service "AutoHistory"?

Everything is extremely simple - from any device with Internet access, you need to enter the car’s VIN code into a special form on the website page and click on the “Check” button. The verification procedure takes a few minutes and the cost of the service is affordable to all categories of the population.

As a result, you receive a full report in which information about the country of manufacture will be indicated in the “Options” item:

If the country of assembly is not Russia (as in the example presented above), then the report additionally reflects customs data:

Use the "AutoHistory" service - protect yourself from scammers and the purchase of a problematic vehicle!

It depends on what we mean by “assembly”.

If the car is welded from pipe scraps, does not have a VIN on the improvised “body”, is driven by a chainsaw, and all its wheels are different, then the assembly is definitely garage-made. If the car looks like a car, has a VIN in several places on the body, as well as a vehicle passport, then the assembly is most likely factory-made.

If we mean the country and manufacturer, then the first three characters of the VIN will help us. The fact is that VIN is not a random combination of letters and numbers, it is a strict cipher made according to certain international rules. The first three characters of the VIN are called WMI (World Manufacturer Identification) and contain information about where and by whom the car was manufactured.

The first two characters of the VIN determine the country of manufacture, the third - the make of the car. For example, if the first character of the VIN is in the range from A to H (Latin letters), then the manufacturer is located in Africa. Yes, yes, they make cars there too! For example, a Toyota made in Egypt starts with CA, made in Morocco with CF, South Africa with AH, and Japan with JT.

European manufacturers got the initial letters from S to Z. Audi made in Hungary starts with TR, and in Germany with WA or WU. By the way, Chinese Audi starts at LF. English Toyota starts at SB, German at WT, Portuguese at WT, Chinese at LF.

Russian factories received the letters X and Z. For example, a Russian-assembled Ford will have a VIN at X9 (or Z6), a Russian Hyundai starts at Z9, a Kaliningrad Kia at XW, as does a Kaluga-based Skoda.

So, by the first three characters of the VIN you can understand which manufacturer produced this car and in which country

. To understand this, you need to use a special reference book. You can google the details using the query “VIN WMI”, this directory is freely available.

It is possible to obtain information about a car that has already been purchased or is being considered before purchasing. To do this, you must have originals or copies of:

• Certificates of registration of ownership of the car;
• Technical passport of the vehicle;
• Directly the car itself.

Procedure for initializing a car using the VIN code

You can find out the VIN code of a specific car from the Certificate of Ownership or the corresponding column of the Technical Passport, duplicated by the column “Body No.” Using a seventeen-digit number consisting of numbers and letters, you can read information about the equipment in full, and also use it when searching for original spare parts.

It is easier to decipher the encoding by dividing it according to world standards into 3 components: WMI, VDS, VIS. They contain important data. The first 3 characters on the left identify the manufacturer. In the first place is a figure enclosing the geographical area; on the second - the sign of the country from this zone; on the third - a specific manufacturer.

In more detail, when identifying the country of origin, it is worth using the following data (according to the first symbol, the goods belong to the countries):

• 1, 4, 5 – USA
• 2 – Canada
• 3 – Mexico
• 9 – Brazil
• J - Japan
• K – Korea
• Y - Sweden
• S – England
• V - Spain
• W – Germany
• Z – Italy

Recommendations for determining the car manufacturer

Vehicle identification number - VIN code, like a fingerprint, is always with the car. If the technical vehicle passport (PTS) can be destroyed or lost, then the VIN code is given to the car at the time of its creation and does not change throughout the entire life of the vehicle. It serves both the owner himself when searching for spare parts, and the police and traffic police officers when identifying stolen cars.

For beginners, it will be interesting to know that the VIN code is stamped on the front left pillar of the body, or the left side of the dashboard so that it can be recognized from the outside through the windshield. For accuracy, the manufacturer indicates where the treasured information is located in the PTS.

The concept of “car equipment”

A car's equipment is a set of component parameters available in a vehicle.

Wanting to capture the attention of their target audience, manufacturers, in a passionate fight against competition, are looking for opportunities to release many variations of one model. Thus, the manufacturer and dealers sell the same model at different prices. The configurations are divided into:

• Basic - implies the minimum possible set of technical components and installed equipment. Such a car is usually less comfortable and does not stand out for its acceleration dynamics, but is attractive due to its affordable price.
• Standard - balance of price, quality and convenience. This set of functions brings increased comfort, a set of additional equipment and improved performance. The price is higher than the basic version.
• Comfort - a wide range of additional equipment, interesting technical characteristics with a maximum level of comfort and convenience.
• Luxury - the maximum of what you need! Everything that the manufacturer can provide will be present in this configuration.
• Promotional - a limited collection of produced cars.

All the options presented above certainly have their pros and cons. One model is more expensive and more comfortable, but the other is cheaper. Buyers already select a suitable car according to their taste.

VIN code to help car enthusiasts before purchasing a vehicle

Before buying a car, you need to check the encoding for any broken characters. Instead of 3 there may be 8, and instead of 5 - 6. In no case can the symbols I, O, Q appear in the readable license plate of the car under study, because they are similar to 1 and 0.

For models of automobile brands Ford, Kia, Hyundai, created in Russian factories, the first symbol is X. Do not be alarmed if, during the selection of spare parts, the program used did not recognize a specific unit. The exact number corresponding to a world-class car is located on the body, and not in the documents.

Thus, using the information received, the car enthusiast will be able to fully learn everything about a particular vehicle. The geography of production, year of manufacture, type and much more will be revealed to him. The main thing is to strictly follow the instructions outlined earlier.

Why know the engine model

Many people, when buying a car, do not think about what it actually is. We are talking about the filling or technical parameters. Of course, only specialists have a thorough understanding of cars, but it is advisable to know some basic facts, such as body and engine numbers. Knowledge of the latter may be required in the following cases:

1. If you need to look for an engine part, you need to know the brand of equipment.
2. Many devices have analogues; if you have an idea of ​​the model, it’s easier to choose something that suits other configurations
3. The better the car owner understands the configuration of his car, the less chance the service station employees have to deceive him when repairing and replacing spare parts and parts, and this will ultimately save money.

Knowing the engine modification is really important. The motorist must have a clear idea of ​​how to do this quickly and without outside help.

By finding out the engine model, you can save money on repairs, quickly select suitable spare parts and protect yourself from unplanned expenses based on the tricks of auto mechanics.

Read a useful article on the topic:

How to check the real mileage of a car by VIN code