How to find out the factory equipment of a car by the VIN code? Detailed guide. With the help of special programs

01.06.2019

Brake system

(car history: registration, photos, accidents, repairs, theft, bail, etc.).

Additional reports: equipment, manufacturer recall check, Carfax and Autochek (for cars from the USA) are available from our partners - VINformer.SU.

Location of identification number

VIN code, or as it is also called the body number, in without fail must be registered in the data sheet, and be identical to the number that is on the body. Usually the number is located on the non-removable parts of the body (front pillar) and those places where the chance of damage to the car in an accident is minimal.

What information does the decoding of the VIN code of the car give

Manufacturer's country.
Year of issue.
Engine and body type.
What equipment should be present when buying a car.
General characteristics car.
Information about the vehicle, its mileage, its early sales and other similar data.

Decryption steps

As a rule, an identification number has 17 characters, and it consists of 3 mandatory parts:

WMI - contains 3 characters.
VDS - contains 6 characters.
VIS - contains 8 characters.

From the first part of WMI just starting to check the car by vin. These symbols identify the manufacturer of cars that are assigned to a particular country. The first character means its geographical area, and can be either a number or a letter, depending on the country of manufacture. For example, numbers from 1 to 5 would represent the manufacturer in North America; from 6 to 7 - the countries of Oceania; from 8 to 9, and also 0 - the manufacturer is South America. Letters from S to Z - cars of European origin, from J to R - origin from Asia, from A to H - brought from Africa.

The first part of the vin check makes it possible to find out where the car was brought from.

Second part referred to as descriptive and should normally be 6 characters long. It often happens that the car manufacturer does not fill in all 6 characters, but according to the rules, all 6 characters must be present in the car. Therefore, if there are only 4 or 5 characters in this part of the code, then the remaining ones are simply filled with zeros and always with right side. The descriptive part of the VIN decoding allows you to determine the model of the car and its main characteristics. The numbers starting from 4 and ending with 8 should tell about the type car engine, its series and models, as well as have data on the body type.

AND third, the final part of the VIN decoding is VIS, which consists of 8 characters. It is worth knowing that the last 4 characters must be present without fail. This is the part of the transcript in which you can find out the year of issue vehicle, data on assembly plant, model year.

All three parts are necessary when deciphering the body identification number, and make it clear to the future owner about the origin and further history car.

Self-check VIN code

To check the VIN code, it is not necessary to contact the appropriate authorities and send a request to them.

Knowing the identification number of the body, enter it into the verification form on our website, and get full information about specific vehicle. This required procedure which is recommended before buying a car. It will take a little time, but it will save you from further troubles.

Good day to all the audience that reads my blog!

In our meeting today, I will tell you about how the vehicle equipment is deciphered by the VIN code.

The ability to decipher the vehicle configuration parameters from the symbols contained in the VIN number provides the motorist with a significant advantage. This is especially true when you need to compare data, information from the owner and body number data for their consistency and reliability.

Such a skill makes it possible not only to extract information about the car directly from the cipher, but can also save you from the gratuitous confiscation of the car by the traffic police, and even from an undeserved prison term, if you are unlucky and you become a victim of especially dangerous fraudulent schemes.

Offhand it may seem that the definition initial configuration car by VIN code is, although undoubtedly a useful skill, but still something far from the immediate needs when buying and selling a car, and that this is not particularly important.

In fact, it only seems so!

Yes, deciphering the VIN number in itself can help you a lot when choosing a car (not only a used one, but also a new one), and in the process of bidding for it, as well as in some other cases. But it is precisely the ability to extract from this identifier data on the original factory equipment of the vehicle (V) that gives high chances of avoiding the risk of losing the purchased vehicle with especially cunning and dangerous fraudulent schemes.

How knowing the original configuration helps in the fight against fraud

When crooks prepare expensive ones for sale criminal cars, then they use more sophisticated and labor-intensive fraud schemes: they do not fit fake documents under the car, but vice versa - the car itself under the purchased original documentation and original body plates with the VIN code and other information, skillfully welded into place.

Recognize this scam common man happens to be very difficult. Usually, such a catch pops up after the transaction, if necessary, an examination body VIN numbers traffic police experts. And then goodbye profitably bought expensive car, farewell to the money for it, and with special bad luck and hello to the criminal case.

After all, it’s not so bad if the transport turns out to be just stolen: you will lose it and not return the money - this is very unprofitable, but that’s all. And if, in addition, he turns out to be an instrument of a crime, which can be especially dangerous: robberies, kidnappings, fatal assaults, premeditated murders, etc. horrors.

This is where checking the conformity of the equipment according to the documents, on the transport itself and encrypted in the VIN markers on the car body, helps - this way you can check the cleanliness of the purchased car with maximum reliability.

Do you get the point?

Shady car dealers are able to fine-tune only the most basic parameters between the documentation with the VIN code and the car itself. The factory equipment in all its details can be agreed only theoretically, but not practically.

And if you see that the factory equipment decoded by you by the VIN number of the body does not correspond much to the one on the car and indicated in the documents, then Special attention during the examination, pay attention to the identification of non-factory welds around the marking plates, or at the joints of the body segments where they are attached.

At the slightest suspicion of welding something in such places, forget about this machine, but it’s better not to risk it at all and refuse this option already in the event of a discrepancy in the configuration. As the saying goes, God saves the safe.

Vehicle identification number and body serial number

Here I will explain to you important nuance about the differences between the VIN number ( identification number vehicle) and body serial number.

The fact is that these two concepts are not identical to each other and many motorists are confused about their difference, and there really is something to get confused about: some brands have only VIN numbers, some only serial numbers, and most (today ) and those and others.

Moreover, the matter is not limited to simple confusion in the differences between the serial number and the VIN number. Such obscurity is used as one of the schemes for profit by werewolf cops, who suddenly discover a "discrepancy" in body numbers, point to it to an inexperienced driver and offer to “solve the problem” for a bribe, but in fact they simply rip off free money from people, doing nothing at all and not solving it.

Differences between VIN number and body serial number

The serial number of the body is responsible for the body itself, and the VIN-number for all vehicles. A shorter body serial is in most cases duplicated in a longer VIN number, but this is not necessary - in some cases, these numbers can be completely different. For example, on "loins" this is quite common and is considered completely normal.

The VIN number differs from the body serial number in the number of characters:

The VIN is always 17 characters long;
Body serial number can contain from 9 to 14 characters.

These rooms may vary in location. Here you need to know that the places for placing VIN numbers are usually maintained as standard, but the manufacturers have the body serial numbers at their discretion. For example, the serial number is often present on the steps, under the seats, on the fender liner, but the VIN number is not found in these places.

Attention! Even the complete difference between the serial number of the body and the identification number is not the basis for any sanctions from the traffic police.

The first 4-6 characters of the serial number determine the configuration of the body (its brand and type). The remaining 5 or 8 digits are the manufacturer's serial number.

To date, more than 20 countries in which vehicles are produced use VIN numbers to identify vehicles. True, there are those who continue to produce vehicles only with body serials (some Japanese and american models), but in this regard, things are still moving towards complete worldwide standardization of marking with mandatory identification by the VIN code.

Therefore, in given time it makes sense to decipher the VIN code, and not the serial number, which, as I said, is almost always part of the first.

I think that I have brought enough clarity to this rather difficult question so that you can more correctly navigate in difficult situations. Although sometimes, judging by the cases described on the network, ambiguity in identification marking it happens that during registration it even comes to technical expertise. But this is more of an exception and they are rare.

Identification marking locations

Now you should remember the standard VIN locations. Of course, the easiest way is to find out the VIN from the PTS and STS (passport and vehicle registration certificate), but you already know that in order to prevent fraudulent schemes, you need to inspect and compare the VIN numbers directly on the car itself to prevent fraudulent schemes.

These codes, often along with other data, are applied to special plates (they are called nameplates) that are fixed to fixed body segments in such a way that they cannot be changed or faked without noticeable damage.

In addition to the body, such nameplates can be attached to the chassis of the machine.

Here are the standard places where you should look for such signs:

On dashboard(from the driver's seat) in the docking area windshield– VIN should be easily read from the outside of the car;
On partitions engine compartment– necessarily in an accessible and readable place;
At the bottom of the front door pillar from the driver's seat;
On the bottom of the luggage compartment;
In any place accessible for inspection of the chassis.

Here you should know that nameplates in luggage compartment usually placed only if the body is of the hatchback type. With a different design, the plate in this place may be absent and this is normal.

Also keep in mind that the locations of the plates must be listed by the manufacturer in the attached documentation for the car.

Nuances of standardization

Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) were introduced at the level of international standards in 1979 (they have been used in the USA and Canada since 1977) and today they are used by automakers in 24 countries.

But here it should be clarified that, as is usually the case in the field of standardization, at first there were several initial VIN standards, of which only one turned out to be universally recognized - ISO 3779:1983 (as amended in 2009), which is also used in Russia.

But today you can still find VIN-identification based on other standards. In this case, in the corresponding column Russian TCP it is usually indicated: "Does not have a VIN number."

There are three of these "extra" standards:

FMVSS - USA, Canada;
ADR 61/2 - Australia and New Zealand;
SAE J853 - other countries.

The generally recognized standard ISO 3779:1983 is controlled by the SAE (International automotive engineers), which further develops it under the guidance of ISO (International Organization for Standardization).

In Russia, GOST R51980-2002 is responsible for this standard.

Structure and decoding

The VIN number contains an alphanumeric cipher of 17 characters, which is divided into three main parts:

The WM code (3, sometimes 4 characters) is the manufacturer's international identification;
The VDS code (exactly 6 characters) is the descriptive part;
The VIS code (8 characters or less) is the indicative part.

WMI code

The WMI (World Manufacturers Identification) code is the so-called. world index. It occupies the first 3 (sometimes 4) alphanumeric characters, which can be both letters and numbers.

In the first place is the symbol denoting the planetary zone of car manufacturing. There are six such zones:

Europe (S–Z);
Asia (J–R);
Africa (A - H);
North America (1 - 5);
South America (8 - 9 and 0);
Oceania (6 - 7).

According to this classification, Russia belongs to the European zone.

In second place is one or two characters that determine the country of manufacture of the car in relation to its geographical area. But here you need to understand that the country is identified not just by the second character, but by its joint alphanumeric combination with the first character.

In third or fourth place is a symbol identifying the manufacturer.

The symbols of the geographical area and the country are set in SAE, and the production identifier is set by the national organization of the manufacturing country (for Russia, this is NAMI).

Link to the table, in which you can see examples of such identifiers for the Russian Federation - there are quite a lot of them (more than two hundred).

Code VDS

The VDS (Vehicle Description Section) code is the so-called. descriptive part, which takes 6 alphanumeric characters.

Symbols 4 to 8 (according to the total score) define various technical parameters of the car. Among others, this may include the following information:

Machine model and its modification;
Model - 4th and 5th character;
Wheelbase type - 6th character;
Body type - 7th character;
Unit type - 8th character;
Transmission type - 9th character.

Here you also need to keep in mind that the last (9th in total) character is a part-time check digit, with the help of which, by means of calculations using a special formula, you can control the reliability of all other characters, since they are all tied to this verification number.

VIS code

The VIS code is the so-called. indicative part and it consists of 8 (or less than 8) alphanumeric characters.

Here are the identifiers:

Model year - 10th overall;
Production and assembly site - 11th place;
Serial number of the vehicle - all other characters up to the 17th inclusive.

One nuance is associated with this block: the last 4 characters always have only a numeric, not an alphabetic designation.

Well, now you are familiar with the general structure of the VIN number and will no longer get confused in it.

Determining the vehicle equipment

You can determine the complete set of the car by analyzing it VIN number by several methods.

This can be done like this:

Manually;
Through Internet services;
With the help of software.

Here I will clarify that it is precisely the parameters regarding the configuration that manufacturers add to the VIN number more at their own discretion. Because of this, today there is no single base data from which it would be possible to determine the parameters of the car automatically and in all details.

Therefore, the most optimal solution here would be to use several methods in combination, which, of course, will require some effort from you.

Manually

This is the most time-consuming method, and it can only be used after determining basic characteristics auto to collect information based on some primary data.

For example, for Ford Corporation cars there are, from which you can learn a lot detailed information for each model. True, the matter is complicated by the fact that this page is in English, but you can open two tabs on one of which include the translation, and leave the second in the original, and so, checking the Russian names of the elements and the English markings, find the required data.

There are also online catalogs, like the catalog from drom.ru, which describes models and their equipment for almost everyone cars, but there are no longer such detailed tables and markings, but there is more descriptive information.

But still there is one universal super-catalog with all the necessary marking tables and all in Russian. This is the carinfo.kiev.ua site, where you can quickly find everything you need, because there is an excellent interactive catalog table of contents for many brands, plus the site also has a corresponding service for working with the VIN code.

Through internet services

Through Internet services, you can quickly determine the configuration by driving the VIN code into the appropriate field. Here things are already more fun, but there are also difficulties.

There are quite a lot of these services, but not all of them work correctly: some do not work at all, others give out not entirely accurate information. Moreover, almost everywhere you can get only a certain basic set of parameters for free.

And already on paid services they offer to issue detailed data in all details. For example, on infovin.ru they ask for 200 rubles for a detailed report on the configuration, in other places more than 300. In general, if someone really needs all the details, then for payment, I think, it is quite tolerable.

But be that as it may, there are a number of good free online resources on the network where you can get valuable information on the basic configuration of the vehicle.

Of those that work with many brands and give out quite correct and necessary information I can note the following:

vinformer - very good service, which is also used by the well-known autoportal ru (I checked the data for VAZ and Toyota - I received quite detailed information on the configuration);
auto-japanese - and this service is designed to Japanese cars, including those that do not have a generally recognized VIN identification (for example, some right-hand drive models). Here, instead of the VIN code, the brand and body number are entered.

To get the most complete information it is advisable to break the VIN number for all services that accept it, because in some places there is something that is not in others, and vice versa.

With the help of special programs

I give this method here more so that you know about the existence of such. To date, the work of special software for decrypting VIN data is not highly correct and efficient.

This includes programs on the Windows platform: "VIN Decoder", "VINformer" and the like.

It is also possible to scan barcodes on nameplates (which have them) with smartphones and get some useful information in the field. But it also doesn't work very effectively yet. Although the future is this method, like all demanded mobile applications undoubtedly exists.

Don't limit yourself to looking at just one VIN plate - you should look at them all, especially those in more difficult to reach places.
For the convenience of checking VIN-codes, use a digital camera of good resolution.
Please note that the VIN does not contain the letters Q, I, and O, as they resemble a one and a zero and have been excluded for this reason.
You should know that the uniqueness of any VIN is conditional: it is designed for a period of 30 years, after which it is possible to reuse the same marking.

Conclusion

Now you know about the importance of obtaining information about the factory equipment of the car, you know how to navigate the codes of VIN-identifiers and know how to extract from them useful information. You also got an idea of the level of complexity of this operation and the upcoming difficulties will no longer take you by surprise.

Maybe one of you has some personal experience with what was described in this article, then share your knowledge with other readers in the comments!

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In continuation of the series of materials on decoding the VIN code, we will consider the question of whether it is possible to determine the model of a car by the VIN number and how to do it. Who needs it? First of all, for those who want to check whether the model according to the body number matches the one that they actually want to sell to you.

There is a need to check whether the model according to the body number matches the one that they actually want to sell you

Where is the information about the car model

This information, as well as other descriptive characteristics, is contained in the second section of the code - VDS. The exact sequence of characters for different parameters y different manufacturers may differ.
As a rule, the vehicle model is marked in the fourth character, and the general list of parameters looks something like this:

model line;
body type;
motor type;
steering wheel position;
power system and gearbox. How can you find out the automatic transmission model by the VIN code - we compare the symbols present with the markings in the table;
etc.

The manufacturer, at its discretion, may indicate another specific model parameter in this block. Up to the presence or absence of airbags, the type of belts, interior trim, the number of doors, etc. Sometimes this block can be used to determine the class of a car.

The specification is often indicated in ordinal numbers from the 5th to the 7th. You can find out the model of the car by the VIN code based on these numbers. A detailed breakdown of the specification is available here (in English): https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Vehicle_Identification_Numbers_(VIN_codes)

The specification is often indicated in ordinal numbers from the 5th to the 7th.

We select the manufacturer we need and look at what this or that designation of the VIN code means.

On Ford example we see that the marking, for example "P4A" indicates that we have ford model Fiesta Sedan S, and the symbols "P31" denote a three-door Ford Focus in a hatchback. By analogy, we look for other manufacturers.

Note! For Ford of European assembly, the model and body type are encrypted in the 9th and 10th characters, respectively. Keep this in mind when reading the VIN code.

VDS control mark - what is it for

The VDS block has another name - "descriptor section". Except technical parameters and specifications, this section also contains an additional check digit, with the help of which the VIN code is broken through for authenticity.

This check mark determined using a special algorithm. All numbers and letters of the VIN code (which are also translated into digital equivalent) are multiplied among themselves (except for the 9th character itself). The result is divided by 11. The quotient must match the check digit. In this case, the body number is genuine.

How else can you find out the model

You can accurately identify the model by the VIN code by combining the symbol indicating the lineup and the designation of the model year. Which is encrypted, as we have already said, with the 10th sign of the number in order. In some cases model year according to VIN, in general, may be absent. For example, such popular auto concerns as Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz and skip this item.

Information from WMI to determine the model will also be useful, since the second character in this section indicates the name of the manufacturer.

Automatic services for checking the VIN-code

"Punch" the body number helps automatic service State Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. It also shows whether any penalties have been imposed on the determined car, not either theft.

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