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The decoding of the car is carried out in stages, starting with the first and ending with the last characters. Step by step , the decryption algorithm will look like this:

Decoding of the first three digits, which indicate the country of manufacture, make and model of the vehicle. The first character (can be a number or a letter) is the country, the second two (alphabetic) are information about the manufacturer. The full designation of international ones can be found using the Global Manufacturer Identifier.

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Decoding of the features and characteristics of the model, which are enclosed in symbols from 4 to 8. This part of the code is responsible for designating the complete configuration of the vehicle. For example, safety equipment, engine type, transmission, cabin information.

Calculating the value of 9 characters in the code. This is done for a control check for the validity of the value of the VIN code and is calculated using a special formula. The ninth character is a check digit, which is calculated by multiplying all digits of the number (except 9) and dividing the resulting amount by 11. The result of the calculation should be a digit identical to the 9 character.

Determination of the year of release. The tenth character means the time of the release of the car. If the car was released between 1980 and 2000, then 10 will be the letter from A to Y. It should be noted that the letters I, O, Q are not used because of their similarity to the numbers 1 and 0. From 2000 to 2010, numbers were used. And after 2010, they returned to letters again to indicate the date.

The designation of the place of production, the factory where the vehicle was produced. Information about the manufacturer is hidden under the 11th digit. To date, the generally accepted standard for the designation of this element in the code has not been adopted. Each manufacturer uses its own standards. But you can decipher the symbol by reading the full list of factories of companies presented on official websites.

According to the last digits in the code, from 12 to 17, it is possible to determine under which number the car came off the assembly line at the factory. The fewer digits in the number, the more likely it is that the car is a rarity, since it was released in a limited edition.