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Online options decode VINs for cars and trucks since 1981. Cars and Parking Meters image by Towards Ithaca from Fotolia.com Since 1981, every car or truck manufactured has had a 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN) that describes many of its features. The first three characters identify the country of manufacture, the make and the model. The next five characters identify specific features according to a code developed by the manufacturer. The remaining characters identify the year the car was manufactured and the manufacturing plant, and provide a serial number, along with a coded character to protect against fraud. Online VIN decoders have different options.
Decoding Charts
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Angelfire (see Reference section) provides charts to identify the VIN characters of many makes and models of cars and trucks. Go to the website and click on the various links to each of the character positions, or click on the manufacturers' logos to see examples of manufacturer-specific codes. Because of the increasing use of modern automatic decoders, this less popular option has not been upgraded to include more recent codes.
Free Automatic Decoder
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Decodethis (see Reference section) offers a free decoder option. Enter the VIN into the space provided and click on "Decode!" The following screen presents several tabs to click to see a general description of the vehicle and equipment options provided and available, along with special notes for that particular year and model. The service is free, but offers several options to purchase other goods and services.
Decoder With a Fee
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VINquery (see Reference section) offers a decoder option for a small fee. Enter the VIN into the space provided and click on "Go." The next screen shows a shopping cart with the make, year and model of the car, with a drop-down menu to select various decoder price options ranging from 50 cents to $1.90. They also offer other merchandise and services.
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