Most of those car owners who are not just accustomed to turning the steering wheel, but have a keen sense of their loyal "iron friend" know many secrets about their vehicle. They probably do not know everything from the words of those who sold the car. You can trust the former owner, or you can doubt the sincerity of all his statements. In addition, it will not be superfluous to know that in the process of prolonged operation, not one, but several owners may change, and the vehicle itself may undergo technical changes more than once.
In the article we will talk in detail about what the VIN code of a car is.
What is VIN code
If there is a need to find out what the car was like when it just came off the assembly line, it is useful to use a method that involves decoding the configuration by VIN code. By the way, not everyone knows. Every modern person has his own unique identification code, which can be used to check the deduction of taxes, to establish the place of work of a citizen. Any vehicle has exactly the same unique number. This number is assigned to the car at the moment of its "birth", it consists of seventeen characters, including numbers and almost all Latin capital letters. The only exceptions are three letters of the Latin alphabet Q, O, I. They are not used, because later they can cause misunderstandings, some car owners may take them for numbers. Of course, by entering distorted information on the VIN-code, it will be impossible to get a reliable report on the car.
Where to find the VIN code
A unique number has been assigned to each car since the eighties of the last century. In this case, the car code is recorded simultaneously in several places. The easiest way is to study the technical passport of the car. However, unfortunately, such a simple method in some cases can lead the owner of the vehicle into error. No one has "canceled" the human factor, therefore, no one can unequivocally assert that a mistake cannot be made in the records of the technical passport due to the fatigue or inattention of the employee filling out this important document.
Based on this, it is useful to try to find out the equipment of the car by the VIN code, which should be found on the car itself. Manufacturers can emboss a unique number in different parts of the car, so sometimes it takes a lot of time to find it. By the way, sometimes even those whose professional activity is related to the frequent search for the VIN-code find it difficult to find it in a short period of time. However, having shown diligence, it is still possible to find this "mysterious" number.
Look carefully at the engine compartment bulkhead, look at the front pillar support cup, redirect your searches to the side members, look for the code under the driver's or passenger's seats, and visually inspect the trunk space. There are, indeed, many places where a manufacturer can specify a VIN. If you find small numbers, equip yourself with a flashlight to improve the illumination and a magnifying glass to read it without errors.
What does VIN mean?
It is useful to understand what the VIN-code “hides” directly, why they are looking for it so carefully. By entering a certain code into special programs, you can easily establish the true complete set of the car. This allows the owner to know about all the technical capabilities of his "iron" friend, as well as to understand whether the vehicle has been subjected to drastic changes by the previous owners.
Alphanumeric dialing can tell a lot. In particular, the first character in the code indicates the country in which the car was produced, the second character will guide you in relation to the manufacturer. In general, the first three characters can be the same on many vehicles, as they are responsible for storing information regarding the geographical “birth” of the vehicle.
The following characters, starting with the fourth and ending with the eighth, contain the manufacturer's cipher. The ninth digit is very interesting, since it does not carry information at all, but it allows you to calculate those who interrupt the VIN code, without knowing the secret mechanisms that establish a fake. Paying attention to the tenth character, you can establish in what year the vehicle was produced.
Of course, such data is of the least interest to car owners. They want to get complete information on the technical capabilities of the car. To determine the complete set by VIN-code, you should pay attention to the last seven characters. It is impossible to remember each designation, and even in combination with certain symbols, therefore experienced owners recommend checking the equipment of a car by VIN code using special service resources.
Special programs
The equipment for the VIN code of any vehicle is easily checked if you use some resources on the network. There are several such proposals. They differ in their functionality, as well as a paid or free option for the provision of such services.
There are also special programs that can be installed on your computer and subsequently used to find answers to technical questions about your vehicle. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to get the full version of the program. In most cases, you will be offered to download a cracked program from various sources, which will no longer be able to work correctly.
However, even if you are the lucky one who was lucky enough to get the full version of the program, it's too early to rejoice, since there is no Russian-language version of the program. Accordingly, in order to understand the technical parameters of your own car, you will have to pick up a textbook and learn English.
There is another way of determining the configuration, thanks to which it is possible to get away from the inconveniences described above. There are sites on the network whose purpose is to conveniently and quickly search for spare parts for each vehicle. Such resources can also be in Russian, so the language obstacle can be bypassed.
An excellent resource, according to most car owners, is the Elcats.ru portal. It is enough to select a car model and click on the "Search" button. After such very simple actions, extended information regarding the vehicle will appear on the screen, but even it cannot be called complete yet. We recommend that you click on the active link "Show the list of options", after that you can find out all the ins and outs of your vehicle. Here, not only the technical characteristics of the car will be indicated, but also the entire equipment, down to every little detail, which is inside the vehicle's interior. We are in a hurry to reassure a little the "ardor" of car owners, since this portal provides extended information not for all vehicles, but only for certain models.
