Where To Find Your Car's VIN Number (And Why You Might Need It)

Every car on the road today has a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). A unique 17-digit alpha-numeric code specific to every car, a VIN can tell you about a car's history. When purchasing a used car, being able to look up and confirm the car's VIN is a benefit you should take full advantage of. A VIN can tell you about the car's safety features, its EPA-rated fuel economy, and if there has been any suspicious activity going on with it. You don't want to accidentally buy a car that's stolen. And if yours is stolen, the police can track it with a VIN.

Back in the old days, a VIN was stamped into the chassis of a vehicle or in the engine bay, stamped on the engine's firewall. These days, it's a little easier to find your VIN, because you can find it in a number of places, including the line where the windshield and the dashboard meet and even the owner's manual. Anyone who has rented a car recently has experienced someone scanning the VIN near the front of the car, because on most cars, that junction is one of the guaranteed places you can find it.

When you buy a car, the VIN can be found on the vehicle title and registration, so make sure they match. Your car insurance policy will also have the VIN. If you have access to your car, you can find it on a sticker placed in the driver's door jamb. If for some reason you can't open the driver's side door, look to where the windshield and the dashboard meet or the owner's manual, if you have one. 

A VIN can tell you the history of your car. With a VIN, prospective buyers can check on any recalls, past vehicle registration, service the vehicle has received, and if any accidents have been reported. If a car's condition seems suspicious, an auto insurance company can tell you if the vehicle has ever had a salvage title. This basically means its damages exceed its value, but you can always take a salvage car and turn it into a daily driver if you're looking for a project and want something cheap to start with.

The VIN also contains a lot of information in that sequence of letters in numbers. For instance, you can learn about its country of origin and manufacturer by looking at the first three character sequence. Characters four through eight will tell you the make of the car and its engine size. Don't worry about the ninth digit. The 10th and 11th digits tell you the model year and the assembly plant it was produced at. Then the rest is the serial number unique to your car. Kind of like a social security number, it tells you everything.