AUCN Vehicle History Check

That being said, it is perfectly safe to give out your VIN. It’s in (essentially) plain sight, just like your license plate. We at Instamotor would argue in favor of sharing your VIN when trying to sell your car, so a buyer can look at the history and know what they are getting into.

A VIN is composed of 17 characters (digits and capital letters) that act as a unique identifier for the vehicle. A VIN displays the car’s unique features, specifications and manufacturer. The VIN can be used to track recalls, registrations, warranty claims, thefts and insurance coverage.

The VIN can tell you practically anything about the car, including color, year, make and model. The registered owner is also tied to the vehicle, so looking up the VIN can reveal the history of ownership, which includes the present owner.

Digits 1 through 3 combined is the WMI, (World Manufacturer Identifier).

Digits 4 through 8 represent the vehicle descriptor section.

Digit 9 is a check digit.

Digits 10 through 17 is the Vehicle Identifier Section.

How to Find the Vehicle’s VIN Number. On most passenger cars, you may find the VIN number on the front of the dashboard on the driver’s side. The best way to see it is to look through the windshield from outside the car. You may also find the VIN number on the driver’s side door pillar.

Auto manufacturers assign a VIN (vehicle identification number) to every car. It’s made up of 17 unique letters and numbers that could unlock a car’s troubled past, preventing you from purchasing a lemon. A VIN check summarizes the vehicle’s recorded history. No two motor vehicles share the same number.

Two of the best-known companies providing vehicle history reports are AUCN and ClearVIN. Go to their website, type in the VIN of the car you want a vehicle history for, and the search will return the number of records found.

A missing or incomplete service history can impact the price of a vehicle by between 10%-20%. With the vast majority of buyers expecting a fairly hefty discount off the asking price.