Does my car's VIN number make sense?
#1
Does my car's VIN number make sense?
I have a 1985 XJ6 series III. I finally figured out why it has been so difficult to find parts in the U.S. I found the owners manual and the car is a German model. All of the websites that ask for a VIN number when I'm trying to sell it say that it is not a legitimate VIN number. Is that because of the year and that it was originally a made to be sold in Germany?
#2
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Pacific Northwest USA
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Yup.
Common situation.
USA parts suppliers (and the vast majority of VIN-decoder web sites) assume a VIN number that complies with USA protocol. The VIN on your German market car is, in essence, a foreign language.
For the USA market a second VIN was assigned to the cars...the one seen on the windshield tag. This is the USA-compliant VIN. The original VIN...the one the car was born with....remains intact at the rear of the engine bay, adjacent to where the diagonal engine bay braces come together.
Cheers
DD
Common situation.
USA parts suppliers (and the vast majority of VIN-decoder web sites) assume a VIN number that complies with USA protocol. The VIN on your German market car is, in essence, a foreign language.
For the USA market a second VIN was assigned to the cars...the one seen on the windshield tag. This is the USA-compliant VIN. The original VIN...the one the car was born with....remains intact at the rear of the engine bay, adjacent to where the diagonal engine bay braces come together.
Cheers
DD
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#9
Here's how a VIN is built up:
Since the implementation of ISO 3779 (1983), a typical VIN consists of 17 digits.
It is divided in three parts: WMI, VDS and VIS
WMI (World Manufacturer's Identification): first three digits, worldwide manufacturer code: contains information about production country and manufacturer. (SAJ for Jaguar UK)
VDS (Vehicle Description Section) : Model description, 6 digits at the manufacturer's discretion
VIS (Vehicle Indicator Section): Serial number, the last eight digits. It is recommended that the first digit of the VIS is used for the model year and the second for the plant the car was manufactured at.
Not all manufacturers follow this advise, as it is not mandatory. WMI and VDS are...
The following characters are not allowed to be used in a VIN in order to avoid errors: Q, O, I
More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicl...ication_number
Last edited by Dutch-Cat; 10-04-2017 at 04:05 AM.
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