A Quick Guide To Understanding A Vehicle’s VIN Code

Opting to purchase a used vehicle could be a smart investment. Although brand-new cars are likely to increase in value with a growing economy, secondhand vehicles could provide an excellent alternative provided that you have the knowhow to do it. If you know how to shop for second hand cars, this could actually be a great deal as it will save you lots of money and help you avoid making expensive mistakes as well. One way to check all essential information and details about the vehicle you intend to buy is running a VIN check.

Mercedes VIN Decoder by Vinspy

Every car has its own Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), including the Mercedes-Benz model which is a major and very popular automotive company in the world. If you do decide to purchase this German car brand, you can do a VIN check with Vinspy or other VIN check tools. With their Mercedes VIN Decoder, you will get all necessary information and details about the vehicle, such as the original manufacturing details, how many times the vehicle has been purchased and sold, if it has been recalled by the manufacturer, or if it has been in an accident.

When doing a VIN check on your Mercedes through Vinspy, you not only make certain you are making a good buy, but also avoid making expensive errors as well as protect yourself from being deceived and scammed.

A Quick Guide To Understanding a VIN

A VIN is like the vehicle’s unique fingerprint. This unique code is used by the auto industry to give an identification to each automobile, truck, bus, motorcycle and trailers as well. As mentioned, the VIN can tell a lot about the car such as where and when it was manufactured, the production number, safety features, and more. Additionally, VINs can help you make certain that everything is legitimate before you make the purchase.

The VIN is composed of 17 numbers and letters that would represent the relevant information and specification about the car. To better understand what the VIN is, let’s have a look at what these digit and letters means.

The first 3 figures in the VIN code are categorized as World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) which represents the vehicles’ country of origin, the manufacturer, as well as the exact division in a manufacturer.

  • 1st – a number or letter that would show where the car was built
  • 2nd – the manufacturer that created the vehicle
  • 3rd – the exact division within a manufacturer that created the car

The 4th to 8th digit gives an outline of the specific information about the vehicle, which includes the size of the engine, body style, as well as the safety features.

  • 4th – model-specific details and safety measures
  • 5th – shows the specific series of a particular model
  • 6th and 7th – represent the body style of the vehicle, such as if it is a hatchback, saloon or convertible
  • 8th – this would represent the engine size of the vehicle, which is helpful when our chasing spare car parts

The 9th figure in the 17-number code is referred to as the “check digit” and is utilized to authenticate the VIN code of the car.

The 10th digit will show the year the vehicle was made. It is typically a number or a letter depending on the age.

The 11th number denotes which manufacturer plant the vehicle was made.

The 12th to 17th Digit in the VIN is the production line digits which is assigned by the manufacturer. In some circumstances, these numbers could be used to locate a car part if there were changes made to a specific car model during the production time.