Car VIN Check

What is VIN?

VIN is an abbreviation for vehicle identification number, which is simply a 17 characters serial number dedicated to every motor vehicle by the automotive industry. The last 6 characters of the VIN is the most important part that contains the vehicle's unique ID.

What is VIN decoding?

VIN decoding is the simple procedure of finding out about the meaning of the digits and letters of the VIN number, which include the manufacturer, make, model, and the year and country of manufacturing.

What is a car VIN check?

There are many factors to take into consideration before buying a used car, like the price and lifespan of the car, but first you should obtain some information about the car history by doing a VIN search. A simple free car VIN check provide you some reports which include theft, title changes, flood damage and some other basic information about the car. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) gathers this information from insurance companies and keeps them in its databases.

So in the case the vehicle wasn't insured in some period in the past, no theft, fraud or other claims related to this car could be found in any insurance company records. That's why a free VIN number check is not enough and you should get a full vehicle history report.

What is a vehicle history report?

A vehicle history report contains full information about any events and claims associated to the vehicle since its production, such as salvage title, odometer rollbacks, fire or flood damage, serious mechanical issues, accidents, fraud, DMV transactions, emission inspections problems or any significant repairs. You'll also know if the car has been used as a rental or a taxi.

So you could see that if you don't trust the seller much, you could find out so much valuable information about the car yourself. Many companies that let you do a VIN check would also offer you a full vehicle history report for a small fee. It only takes you a few minutes but worth a lot since it could help you take away from almost any problem regarding buying a used car.