Decode Any VIN For Free

How to Legally Conduct a Comprehensive VIN Decode Check

Vehicle Identification Numbers play an integral part in uniquely identifying the millions of vehicles on roads today, but the journey was decades in the making. The precursor to Vehicle Identification Numbers began appearing in the 1950s on American automobiles, when manufacturers placed identifying numbers on the chassis or engines. Different states had varying laws and regulations to track vehicles, and each manufacturer had their own numbering system. It was not until 1981 that the modern 17-digit VINs were implemented.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on the International Organization for Standardization’s 1977 recommendation, implemented the current standardized Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) system in America to uniformly register and track vehicles. Akin to a fingerprint, the VIN is a unique number assigned only to one vehicle, and it serves many purposes. Insurance companies can easily track a vehicle’s history with a VIN number check, while the police use the VIN as an important identifier in their reports. For consumers, a free VIN number lookup allows you to decode invaluable information about an automobile’s past. By discerning the combination of letters and numbers, you can learn much about the car, ranging from the year it was made to the engine installed inside. Currently, as of the 1981 legislation, the following vehicles are part of the VIN decoder search:

• Automobiles
• Motorcycles
• Vans
• Trucks
• SUVs
• Buses

Information Revealed in a VIN Decoder Lookup

From just 17-digits, much information can be decoded from a simple VIN number check, which is essentially a car’s serial number. The data revealed from the VIN decoder lookup can include:

• The automobile’s manufacturer
• The manufacturing country and specific plant
• Make and model
• Year
• Engine type
• Safety and restraint systems
• Transmission type

Methods of Decoding VINs

When the standardized VIN system was introduced in 1981, manually decoding VINs was an easier task than it is today. With the limited numbers of models, brands, and manufacturers, the task of decoding a VIN number was straightforward and could be easily discerned by using a paperback manual. In today’s automotive realm, there has been a hundred fold increases in manufacturing variety, and to manually decode a VIN number is now a daunting task. Thanks to the advancement of digital technology, online VIN decoders make your research easy electronically. VINCheckPro specializes in free VIN number lookups, and after you enter in the 17-digit number, our system will automatically decode a VIN number for you and generate a vehicle history report.

Can I Do a License Plate Search?

As a potential car buyer, adding a license plate search to your car shopping weapons of choice is a good idea. You want to know as much as you can about a car you are considering buying and the license plate information can answer most of your questions.

Of course, there are other reasons you may want to do a license plate search. Are you safety conscience, worried about who is giving your child a ride to school or to the playground? A quick search can tell you if the other parent’s car is safe and reliable.

But these are just a few examples of why you should do a search. To put your mind at ease for something as simple as knowing more about the vehicle used in the car pool to help you with making an important purchase, a free license plate search provides crucial details to help you make decisions you and your family can rely on.

Locating the Number for a VIN Decoder Search

Every vehicle has a 17-digit VIN that has been standardized by our government. On the vehicle itself, it is most commonly found on the driver’s side, in front of the steering wheel on the lower left-corner of the dashboard. When you look into the car from the outside of the windshield, you will be able to see the VIN. There are several other locations where a VIN may have been placed:

• Engine block: At the front of the engine
• Wheel well: In the rear wheel well, above the tire itself
• Car frame: In the front of the car frame, near the windshield washer fluid container
• Driver-side doorpost: Inside the door, close to the door latch
• Driver-side doorjamb: Inside the door, parallel to the location of the side-view mirror
• Spare tire: Underneath the tire

The VIN can also be located on various paperwork, including:

• Title
• Insurance paperwork
• Registration card
• Owner’s manual
• Police reports
• Repair records from body shops

Reasons to Decode a VIN Number

The government utilizes VINs for a variety of reasons, ranging from locating stolen cars to maintaining registration and insurance. For consumers, a VIN decoder search is an invaluable part of conducting research on used cars. A free VIN check can unveil much history about an automobile, ranging from totaled titles to accidents or mechanical problems. Reports from VINCheckPro can include the following information to decode a VIN number:

• Accident history
• Total loss records
• Ownership history
• Structural damage
• Commercial use, such as taxi, police or fleet usage
• Theft history
• Salvage or totaled title history
• Estimated odometer mileage
• Mechanical maintenance
• Environmental score
• 60+ vehicle problems
• Recalls and defects
• Safety ratings
• True Market Value
• True Cost Of Ownership

Conducting a VIN number check provides much information to consumers considering purchasing a pre-owned car, helping to avoid vehicles that have been accidents or are lemons.

Discern Falsified Numbers by Using an Online VIN Decoder

Given today’s range of technology, such as 3D printers, unscrupulous sellers can generate a false VIN plate to place onto problematic pre-owned vehicles. This is another reason why conducting a free VIN number check report through VINCheckPro can help you discern the accurate history of a vehicle. When you compare the details of the report with the reality of the vehicle, you may discover discrepancies that will alert you to a falsified VIN.

How to Legally Decode a VIN Number

Conducting a free VIN check allows you to legally access all public information about a vehicle. The public information is made available by law to allow consumers to research the real history of a pre-owned vehicle. You simply need to enter the 17-digit number, and our system will go through more than 40 million of government and private records to generate a vehicle history report for you. There is certain information that is withheld in a VIN decoder lookup, including the owner’s name and address. In accordance with the Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (also known as the DPPA), certain personal information cannot be disclosed, including:

• The owner’s name
• Social security number
• Driver’s license number
• Name
• Address (with exception to the registered zip code)
• Telephone number
• Medical information
• Disability information

Certain states have additional legislation that protects even more personal data, but the DPPA does allow for the sharing of an individual’s car accidents, ticket violations, and current driver license status. A free VIN number lookup through VINCheckPro will provide you with all of the information legally available through federal, state, and local records, as well as private insurance records. Using our online VIN decoder can provide you with a wealth of information about an automobile’s true history that cannot be discerned by the eye.