For many Russians, a getaway car is often the first vehicle they buy on their own. In addition to the affordable price, the car owner receives all the “past” associated with this car. Often, the presence of problems associated with such a car becomes clear only after the money is transferred to the seller.
Checking the car for theft, collateral and restrictions on the traffic police database will help to minimize risks during such transactions. This operation is available to any Internet user. In this case, it is necessary to enter some data on the car, so it is worth having some information about the vehicle or copies of registration documents for it in advance.
How to check a car by VIN code
Sellers often resort to deception by offering cars that are listed in the theft database or the register of seized property. Therefore, before purchasing, it is better to look at the information about the vehicle online.
To find a car using its VIN code in the database, you just need to enter the numbers and letters of the code into the search window. On specialized sites like ours, a complete check of the car and decoding of basic information about the car is available.
You can check the car by VIN code on our website. The data you receive will exactly match the information in the data sheet.
When is a theft check needed?
Since 2013, before selling a car, you no longer need to deregister with the traffic police. The buyer and seller independently draw up a purchase and sale agreement and settle payments among themselves. Then the new owner must contact the nearest traffic police MREO within 10 days and re-register the vehicle in his name. This is where unpleasant surprises can await him.
If the car is put on the wanted list or it is discovered that the VIN code on it is broken, inspectors will be forced to return it to its rightful owner.
It is almost impossible to get your money back in this situation, since the attacker will be out of reach by this time.
In order to avoid losing money and a vehicle, before making payment you should definitely check to see if the car you like is on the wanted list. This ironclad rule can be neglected only if the seller is a close relative or long-time acquaintance.
Where is the car's VIN code located and what does it look like?
The easiest way is to look at the vehicle's VIN code in the registration certificate. You can also find the identification number on the body. It is marked on its non-removable parts and on the chassis. You can find out your VIN number by looking at a special permanent plate attached in a visible place.
Typically, the VIN is located in the following locations:
- in the window on the edge of the windshield;
- on the left B-pillar;
- on the floor near the front driver's or passenger seat;
- under the hood.
Detailed vehicle report
The results of the VIN and license plate check will tell the whole history of the car. The full report includes the following items:
- photos of cars with the declared license plate;
- mileage history;
- data on road accidents and the most significant damage;
- calculation of insurance repair work;
- traffic police restrictions;
- pledges;
- history of registration actions;
- number of owners;
- car release date;
- leasing;
- hijacking;
- working in a taxi;
- customs history;
- THAT;
- checking the VIN check character;
- MTPL data and cost;
- disposal;
- history of fines.
View an example report. All checks are stored in the client’s personal account.
Favorable prices
You can buy one report for 349 rubles or a package of 5, 10, 20, as well as 50 checks in the “Outbought” format. The more checks in the package, the more profitable:
- The price of 5 checks is 1266 rubles (savings are 479 rubles).
- Price 10 - 2399 rubles (savings - 1091 rubles).
- Price 20 - 4599 rubles (savings - 2381 rubles).
- The price of 50 reports is 5,000 rubles (savings are 3,550 rubles).
After each check, we give a bonus promotional code with a 50 rubles discount on the purchase of the next report. You can activate the promotional code yourself when ordering a new report or pass it on to friends or acquaintances.
Decoding the VIN code of the car
Anyone can decipher the VIN number of any car online for free. To do this, you only need the VIN code numbers and Internet access. When decoding the VIN code, you should understand what these symbols represent:
- 1–3 characters indicate the country of manufacture of the car (example: ST - Germany);
- 4–8 contain information about vehicle options;
- 9 is designed to check the VIN code for counterfeit;
- 10 — year of vehicle manufacture;
- 11 denotes the plant where the car was created;
- Subsequent characters are the serial number.
What information can be found by VIN code?
The database contains complete information on registered vehicles. Therefore, using the VIN number you can find out almost all the data about the car.
Services allow you to check the make and model of a car by VIN code and clarify other relevant parameters:
- determine the car number;
- check the environmental class of the car;
- clarify the technical characteristics and modification of the car;
- check the car for an accident or theft;
- find out mileage;
- check the availability of compulsory motor insurance;
- check for bail, arrests and restrictions;
- find out about the availability of technical inspection.
The lack of Internet may prevent you from using the service and deciphering the VIN number online for free, but the numbers and letters of the code make it possible to evaluate basic information about the car “manually”.
Check car by VIN code
Other types of checks
In order not to lose your car immediately after purchasing it, you must also check it for restrictions, liens and liens. The discovery of any of such facts in the history of a vehicle is grounds for refusal to register it by traffic police officers and for seizure.
Restrictions on the traffic police database are relevant for cars pledged to the bank in order to ensure the conscientious fulfillment of car loan obligations by their owners. Borrowers can use credit machines freely, even entrust management to third parties. However, until the debt is fully repaid, cars cannot be sold - they are subject to restrictions on registration actions. Borrowers who have problems repaying their loans sometimes try to sell their cars before the bank repossesses them.
In cases where the right to own a car is disputed in court, during the proceedings it is seized, which prohibits the re-registration and operation of the vehicle. For example, such a situation may occur during the division of property as a result of divorce proceedings or contestation of inheritance. In order to prevent attempts by one of the parties to the conflict to sell the car, the court applies the arrest procedure.
A vehicle is secured not only if it is purchased with a car loan. This can happen some time after the purchase, when the owner decides to get a loan from a bank or pawnshop secured by movable property. In this case, information about this event may not reach the traffic police. If restrictions and arrests are on the website of the State Traffic Inspectorate, then the pledge can only be found out from the register of pledged property of the Federal Notary Chamber.
VIN number structure
The number consists of seventeen letters (digits and Latin letters), grouped into three blocks of 3-6-8 letters.
- Worldwide Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) block. Three letters indicate the country and brand;
- “Vehicle Description Section” (VDS) block. Six characters describing the design;
- block “Vehicle identification section” VIS. Eight letters of additional information.
WMI block decryption
The first sign indicates the continent, the second indicates a country on the continent, the third indicates the manufacturer (brand).
Meaning of the first character:
| Letter range | Geographical area |
| A.H. | Africa |
| JR | Asia |
| SZ | Europe |
| 1-5 | North America |
| 6-7 | Australia and Oceania |
| 8-9 | South America |
Country IDs:
| AH = Africa | JR = Asia | SZ = Europe | 1-5 = North America | 6-7 = Oceania | 8-9 = South America |
| AA-AH South Africa AJ-AN Ivory Coast AP-A0 not used BA-BE Angola BF-BK Kenya BL-BR Tanzania BS-B0 not used CA-CE Benin CF-CK Madagascar CL-CR Tunisia CS-C0 not used used DA-DE Egypt DF-DK Morocco DL-DR Zambia DS-D0 not used EA-EE Ethiopia EF-EK Mozambique EL-E0 not used FA-FE Ghana FF-FK Nigeria FL-F0 not used GA-G0 not used HA -H0 not used | JA-JT Japan KA-KE Sri Lanka KF-KK Israel KL-KR South Korea KS-K0 Kazakhstan LA-L0 China MA-ME India MF-MK Indonesia ML-MR Thailand MS-M0 not used NF-NK Pakistan NL-NR Turkey NT-N0 not used PA-PE Philippines PF-PK Singapore PL-PR Malaysia PS-P0 not used RA-RE UAE RF-RK Taiwan RL-RR Vietnam RS-R0 Saudi Arabia | SA-SM Great Britain SN-ST Germany SU-SZ Poland S1-S4 Latvia TA-TH Switzerland TJ-TP Czech Republic TR-TV Hungary TW-T1 Portugal T2-T0 not used UA-UG not used UH-UM Denmark UN-UT Ireland UU-UZ Romania U1-U4 not used U5-U7 Slovakia U8-U0 not used VA-VE Austria VF-VR France VS-VW Spain VX-V2 Serbia V3-V5 Croatia V6-V0 Estonia WA-W0 Germany XA-XE Bulgaria XF-XK Greece XL-XR Netherlands XS-XW USSR/CIS | 1A-10 USA 2A-20 Canada 3A-3W Mexico 3X-37 Costa Rica 38-30 Cayman Islands 4A-40 USA 5A-50 USA | 6A-6W Australia 6X-60 not used 7A-7E New Zealand 7F-70 not used | 8A-8E Argentina 8F-8K Chile 8L-8R Ecuador 8S-8W Peru 8X-82 Venezuela 83-80 not used 9A-9E Brazil 9F-9K Colombia 9L-9R Paraguay 9S-9W Uruguay 9X-92 Trinidad and Tobago 93-99 Brazil 90 not used |
Brand values:
| 1 - Chevrolet | A - Mitsubishi (USA) | G - General Motors | N - Infiniti |
| 2, 5 — Pontiac | B - BMW | H - Acura | N - Nissan |
| 3 - Oldsmobile | B - Dodge | H - Honda | O - Opel |
| 4 - Buick | B - VW (Brazil) | J - Jeep | P - Plymouth |
| 6 - Cadillac | C - Chrysler | J - Mercedes Benz (USA) | S - Isuzu |
| 7 - GM Canada | D - Mercedes Benz | L - Lincoln | S - Suzuki |
| 8 - Saturn | F - Ferrari | M - Hyundai | T - Lexus |
| A - Audi | F - Fiat | M - Mercury | T - Toyota |
| A - Jaguar | F - Ford | M - Mitsubishi | U - BMW (USA) |
| A - Land Rover | F - Subaru | M - Skoda | V - Volkswagen V - Volvo |
If the number “9” is in third place, then the car was assembled in a production facility where less than 500 cars are produced per year.
Decryption of the VDS block
Six letters, of which the first five encode the body type, version, engine type of the car, and the last is a checksum. To decrypt this block, you need to access the manufacturer's design database.
Decoding the VIS block
The first letter of the block (tenth from the beginning of the code) indicates the model year of the car. Not supported by all brands. The next letter identifies the plant, and the last digits indicate the serial number of the car on the assembly line.
The WMI block padding standard applies worldwide. The combination of the first three letters is unique to each manufacturer.
VDS and VIS units are standardized only in the USA, and are required for vehicles intended for import into the USA. In other countries, the manufacturer has the right to interpret the meaning of individual letters in accordance with internal design documentation.
In VDS and VIS blocks, the use of alphabetic characters “I”, “O” and “Q” is prohibited due to the ease of converting them into digital characters “1” and “0”.
Carrying out registration
The registration procedure includes several steps. They must be performed in a certain sequence.
Statement
Submission of an application is carried out in three ways: handwritten, printed, electronic. For the third option, you will need to access information resources via the Internet of government authorities. The document states:
- details of the person who is the applicant, full name, registration address, etc.;
- the traffic police inspection department where registration is supposed to be carried out;
- the car is new or imported into the territory of the Russian Federation;
- data on the vehicle, which are indicated in its registration documents (license number, VIN code, model, make, date of manufacture);
- information about the owner, who can be an individual or legal entity;
- in some cases, information about the representative is provided.
The application must be endorsed by signature. Without it, the document will be invalid. When sending information via the Internet, the document is certified with an electronic signature.
Payment
The service is paid before registration. The amount differs depending on the type of service provided:
- replacing a license plate for a car – 2000 rubles, for motor vehicles – 1500 rubles;
- with the issuance of a new passport for a vehicle - 800 rubles, if changes are made - 350 rubles;
- production of a new registration certificate - 500 rubles.
Local authorities or federal authorities receive these services free of charge.
Contacting the traffic police
When contacting the State Inspectorate department, certain standards have been adopted for citizens and traffic police officers:
- reception of citizens is carried out in accordance with the established schedule;
- the service must be provided within 60 minutes, and the waiting period is a quarter of an hour;
- submission of applications through online services is limited to five days for consideration, after which the applicant must be called for a face-to-face meeting;
- The inspector is obliged to check the submitted documents.
Visual assessment
A vehicle is inspected if it is registered, the personal data of the owner is changed, the car is deregistered, or the owner of the vehicle changes.
The algorithm consists of the following points:
- control for compliance with the identification number ;
- checking design features ;
- valid for a month.
After verification, the car owner is given a license plate for the car, a certificate and a passport for the car.
Is it possible to check a car for free using its VIN code?
The car can be checked for free on the official website of the traffic police, but the information received will not be entirely complete. You can also do a free preliminary check on our website. The full report will be available to you after payment.
Check car by VIN code
Unfortunately, it is impossible to check the car through State Services. On this site you can only submit an application for car registration and vehicle registration.
How to get insurance for theft
To apply for insurance to compensate for damage from an insurance company, you need to provide it with the following list of documents, which is indicated in the insurance contract:
- statement of theft with a request to pay the insurance amount;
- personal passport;
- insurance policy;
- receipt for payment of insurance premiums;
- vehicle registration certificate;
- Vehicle title;
- power of attorney to drive a car, if on the day of the theft the driving was carried out under a power of attorney;
- a certificate from the police about filing a report of car theft and search (notification coupon);
- a copy of the police resolution to open a criminal case on the fact of theft or refusal to open such a case;
- a copy of the police resolution on the conduct of procedural actions in relation to material evidence, if they were included in the case materials, in the case when the documents required by the insurance company were seized by the police as material evidence or stolen along with the car.
The insurance company begins paying insurance compensation for car theft after two months after filing the application. This period is given to the police to return the stolen car to the owner. If the car is found and returned to the owner during this period, the insurance will not be paid to the victim. Otherwise, after payment of insurance compensation, the found car is not returned to the owner, but is transferred to the insurance company.
In the absence of a CASCO insurance contract, there can be no talk of receiving compensation for theft. In this case, the owner can only rely on the police and his own ability to find the car. The victim should also obtain a certificate from the police stating that the car is wanted in order to be exempt from car tax on the basis of Art. 358 clause 2 clause 7 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
