VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is a combination of symbols, which is assigned to the car by the manufacturer in order to identify it. VIN-code consists of three parts:
- WMI (World Manufacturers Identification) is a code, which is assigned to the manufacturer in order to identify it. The code consists of three characters (letters or numbers) assigned by the competent authority of the country, where the manufacturer is registered in accordance with the rules of the international agency acting on behalf of the International Organization for Standardization ISO or its regional representation.
- VDS (Vehicle Description Section) consists of six characters and describes the characteristics of the vehicle. The manufacturer determines symbols, their location and sequence. If there are some unused blank positions, the manufacturer fills them with different symbols without any value.
- VIS (Vehicle Identifier Section) includes eight symbols, the last four of which should be numbers. In this section, the manufacturer can state the year of the car production or the code of its car plant. The definition “production year” means the calendar year of manufacturing of the vehicle or the model year of the vehicle, according to the definition adopted by the manufacturer.
In other words, it is important to check and verify any used vehicle before buying it. I would strongly recommend to use this community VIN number lookup service capable to deliver a lot of data pieces including recalls, complaints and problems in the past. All these things can help you to make a right decision regarding a car.