The VIN, which is short for vehicle identification number, is comprised of alpha numeric sequences which disclose an abundance of information about your automobile.  There are 17 characters in a VIN which are divided into three groups:

Group 1:  World Manufacturer Identifiers 

The first three letters and numbers of the VIN are the World Manufacturer Identifier.  The very first letter or number (Position 1) of the VIN tells you in what region of the world your vehicle was made:

The second letter or number (Position 2), in combination with the first letter or number in the VIN, tells you in what country the vehicle was made. Vehicles are made in over 80 countries and there are over 600 VIN country codes.

The third letter or number (Position 3) is used by the vehicle manufacturer to identify what kind of vehicle it is (car, truck, bus, etc.).  Each vehicle maker uses different codes.

Group 2:  Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) 

Positions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 reveal the vehicle model, engine type and body style.  Each vehicle maker uses different codes.

Position 9 is the VIN Check Digit where you can use math to figure out if it is a correct VIN.  It does not tell you anything about the vehicle itself.

Group 3:  Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS)

Position 10 tells you the model year of the vehicle. This may be different from when it was manufactured, as many automobile manufacturers start to produce next years model in the current year.

Positions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 are unique identifiers per manufacturer disclosing which assembly plant, extra options added to the vehicle, production sequence number and items of that nature.

Deal Pack’s integration with BookItOut.com provides VIN Bursting (decoding) of your vehicle inventory.   Give us a call today at 800-526-5832 for a demo and we’ll show you how it expedites your inventory data entry!