The European used car markets are open to everyone, which expands our possibilities not only in terms of choosing a model and type of car, but also in terms of suitable conditions for making a transaction. How successful the purchase is will depend not only on how accurately we will assess the technical condition of the car, but also on knowing the history of the car. How to check a European car? According to the VIN code - a unique identifier of the car, which is fraught with a whole story about the life of a car. Let's talk about this in more detail.
Why check the history of a car from Europe.
Each car has its own unique history, and much of it can affect the technical condition of the car, its resource, and its legal status. Accidents, natural disasters, and operating conditions are the main reasons that not only reduce the life of a car, but also make its operation unsafe.
Participation in an accident does not always entail serious malfunctions, but it is not always possible to determine the degree of their severity at the time of purchase. Knowing the history and facts of participation in traffic accidents, and having information about repairs and maintenance, one can draw a conclusion about the technical condition of the car. To do this, you need to check the car by the VIN code.
The same applies to the legal side of the issue. The secondary market is the main place for selling cars with a bad history, listed as stolen, and sometimes pledged. To shed light on the legal status of the car, checking by the VIN code will help.
What can you find out by the VIN code of a car from Europe
The VIN is a unique identifier that is assigned to a car at the factory. It consists of 17 numbers and symbols, which are combined into groups that are responsible for this or that information. Here is an overview of what information the VIN contains.
The identifier complies with standards that are accepted in North America and Canada. It is followed by all European manufacturers. In the code, each digit (symbol) or their group stores certain data about the car:
• 1-3 position. Manufacturer Index. The first digit tells about the country, using the second position you can find out the manufacturer's code, and the third is the type of vehicle.
• 4-8 position. Model, type of power plant and body, type of transmission, and other technical characteristics.
• 9 position. Designed to protect the code from forgery.
• 10 position. Year of manufacture of the car.
• 11 position. General characteristics of the manufacturer.
• 12-17 position. Body number and assembly sequence.
Where to check the VIN of a car from the EU
Checking a car can be done independently or through paid systems that generate reports on the VIN code. In the first case, state online services are used, which, upon request, provide this or that information about the car, for example, registration data or car status. Their disadvantage is that it will take a lot of time, and in some cases money, to collect information that will help make a decision to buy a car or refuse it (certain information may be provided on a paid basis)
An alternative option is to use the services of special services that generate reports by VIN code. The most popular online VIN check systems:
• Carfax
• Autocheck
• Checkcar.vin
Let's briefly talk about each of them..
Carfax
One of the oldest VIN verification systems that provided fax reports in the early years. Hence the name of the service. The Carfax database has data on millions of vehicles in the US, Canada, and Europe. At one time, Carfax was the only alternative to expert services, which were not cheap.
Autocheck
Provides advanced vehicle information, including accident, damage, gray market sales, vehicle recalls, mileage, maintenance, and more.
Autocheck has a rating system. All information provided is evaluated on a 100-point system. The service also compares the data of the vehicle in question with the characteristics of other vehicles from the database.
Checkcar.vin
Created relatively recently, but already gaining great popularity, the online service for checking cars by VIN code. Its main feature is a large amount of information, which is much higher than in other systems. Basically, it provides aggregated data that Autocheck and Carfax have.
Checkcar.vin offers free and paid services. The free report contains data on the country in which the car was produced, models, registrations, and legal status. The extended paid version contains the amount of information that will be enough to make a decision in the vast majority of cases:
• technical characteristics of the vehicle;
• participation in an accident;
• car registration;
• insured events;
• status information (mortgaged, scrapped, stolen, etc.);
• maintenance, repairs, modifications
Checking by VIN code for a car from Europe in the service https://checkcar.vin/page/vin-check-europe gives you the following benefits:
• you do not need to collect information from different sources - you get a complete report in one place, saving time and money;
• you get a volume of information that is not available in any VIN-code verification system;
• the opportunity to receive a free report;
• a large selection of payment methods.
In the vast majority of cases, we recommend using the extended paid version of the report to check cars from Europe. Its cost is low, but in this case, the probability of falsifications, the presence of hidden defects, and legal restrictions on the operation is practically reduced to zero.