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Free VIN Decoder

Like the fingerprint, the VIN is a unique number assigned only to one vehicle. From the combination of letters and numbers, you can learn much about the vehicle, ranging from the year it was made to the engine installed inside. The government does VIN decoding for a variety of reasons, ranging from locating stolen cars to maintaining registration. Insurance companies track a vehicle’s history with a VIN number check.

For consumers, VIN decoding can serve many purposes. It is a valuable tool for doing research on used cars. Using VinCheckPro’s VIN decoder, you can unveil much history about an automobile, ranging from totaled titles to accidents or mechanical problems. 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. 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.

A Brief History of Vehicle Identification Number

VINs play an integral part in uniquely identifying the millions of vehicles on roads today.  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 (NHTSA), 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.

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 frame, near the windshield washer fluid container
• Driver-side doorpost: Inside the door, close to the door latch
• Driver-side door jamb: 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
• Police reports
• Repair records from body shops

What Does a VIN Decoder Do?

From just 17 digits, much information can be decoded from a simple VIN number check Currently as of the 1981 legislation, these vehicles are part of the VIN decoder search: automobiles, motorcycles, vans, trucks, SUVs, and buses. You can get the following information using our VIN decoder free of charge:

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

There’s more! VINCheckPro.com free VIN decoder also offers a full vehicle history report for free with the following information:

• 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
• Market Value
• Cost Of Ownership

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

Manual versus Online VIN Decoding

When the standardized VIN system was introduced in 1981, manually decoding VINs was an easier task than it is today. With the limited number of models, brands, and manufacturers, the task was straightforward and could be easily discerned by using a paperback manual. In today’s automotive realm, there has been a hundredfold increase in manufacturing variety and the task has become daunting. Thanks to the advancement of digital technology, online tools are not available for the task. VINCheckPro specializes in free VIN  lookups, and after you enter the 17-digit number, our system will automatically do it for you and generate a vehicle history report for free.

How to Legally Decode the VIN Number of a Car

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 government and private records to generate a vehicle history report for you.

Can I look up the previous owner’s personal data? No, in accordance with the Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (also known as the DPPA), these certain personal details cannot be disclosed:

• • The owner’s and/or driver’s name
  • Social security number
  • Driver’s license number
  • 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’s license status. 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 free of charge, you can tap a wealth of information about an automobile’s true history that cannot be discerned by the eye.

Can I Do a License Plate Search? Yes, you can do this with VinCheckPro free license plate lookup. 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 conscious, 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.