When people are in the market for a new car, there are different things that they have in mind and look out for. Some of these things that are taken into consideration include engine capacity, mileage, color, design amongst other features.
However there are other things that you should have in mind to check and lookout for as well, which most people don’t remember to do at this point of searching for a car to buy. These include Chassis Number, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), and the Engine number of the car.
This information regarding your car is very important and you should be aware of it. If you have dealt with motor insurance, you will remember that Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and chassis number were required of you.
The reason why insurance companies will always ask for this is because that VIN is a way of identifying your car and telling it apart from other cars.
Just as everyone has their own unique thumbprint, the VIN is a unique identifier for your vehicle and a medium to distinguish it from other cars apart from mere looking at them.
In fact with the VIN of your car, one call tell the exact shade of paint that was used on the car. You can also make use of your VIN while ordering certain parts for your car in the event of a replacement.
Do you now see the importance of knowing the VIN of your car? You should also be aware of the chassis number and the engine number.
Now that your attention has been drawn to it, the question that will most likely be on your mind now is how and where do I find this important information regarding my car. If that is the question that you have, then you are at the right place.
By the time you are done reading, you will be in the know regarding where and how to find out these vital information.
Finding Your Chassis Number, VIN and Engine Number
What is a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or Chassis number?
We have already discussed a little about what a vehicle identification number is and how it is a unique identifier for your car. Adding to that explanation, the VIN is made up of 17 characters that just as we have already pointed out are unique to your car.
To some people the VIN and the chassis number are the same thing and this is stemming from the fact that the VIN is stamped to the chassis of the car.
However, the chassis number is part of VIN and if you’ve found the VIN, you will have no issues with locating the chassis number.
Having a VIN is compulsory for every car in all parts of the world. It doesn’t matter the make, manufacturer, model or year, it doesn’t matter if it’s a private or commercial car, as long as it is a vehicle it will have a VIN, so that one car will not be confused for another.
How To Obtain a Car’s Vehicle Identification Number?
As you already know by now, the VIN is just like a thumbprint for cars and no two cars will have the same VIN.
Now let get into the some of the methods that you can use and the places where you will find your car’s VIN.
1. Insurance Policy Document
If your car is insured which it probably is, just check your Insurance policy documents and you are sure to find your VIN there.
Due to technological advancement, your policy documents have probably been sent to your email upon purchasing or renewing your car insurance. So you can just go through your registered email inbox, locate the policy documents and find your VIN.
2. Driver’s Side Door
It is quite common to find your chassis number on the driver’s side door. Your car’s chassis number is often printed on the driver’s side door. You will find a metal strip on the B-pillar of the car and the chassis number will be displayed there. This is very visible when you open the driver’s side door.
3. Under The Hood
Another place that you can locate the VIN is under the hood. If you want to use this method of checking your engine please ensure that your car is not running to avoid any causing yourself any injury or accident.
4. Dashboard
Knowing your VIN by checking your dashboard is not an option that is available for everyone as there some car manufacturers that do not have it displayed there. However there are some who do.
Whichever the case might be, just take a look at your dashboard and if you see your VIN printed there, usually on the driver’s side then you’ll have it. If yours is not displayed there, do not be alarmed as there are still other ways you can get it which we will still point out.
5. Registration Certificate
After you have purchased your car, you will have to register it with the local Regional Transport Office (RTO). In the course of this registration the RTO will print out the Vehicle’s Chassis Number on the Registration Certificate (RC) of your car. That way, you will get to know the chassis number of your vehicle.
6. Boot
Under the spare wheel in the boot is yet another place that you can find your VIN. Just lift the spare wheel and you will find it there.
If you are surprised by the fact that the boot is one of the places where you can find VIN, be consoled by the fact that a lot of persons probably also didn’t know.
7. Your Car Dealership
Maybe you don’t want to bother with checking for the VIN on any of the parts of your car mentioned, simply go to your car dealership and they will trace and provide you with the VIN of the car.
8. Rear Wheel
For some cars, you can find the VIN above the rear wheel. This might not be the best place to display this information as finding it there can prove to be quite tasking, however, you can still use the other methods.
Now that we are done with discussing the ways that you can find your car’s VIN, the next one that we will take a look at is the Engine number.
Engine Number
An important thing that we have to point out here is that the Engine number although also used for identification purposes is different from the VIN or chassis number. You can locate it on the car’s engine casing.
We will now go on to look at some ways to find your vehicle engine number.
1. Insurance Policy Document
As you already know, your car insurance policy document contains all the vital information regarding your car, the engine number included. You can check your email for this document as the Insurance Company would have sent it to your registered email address.
2. Owner’s Manual
Although your engine number will be on the engine block, you might not know exactly where as this varies. In this case, you can refer to your owner’s manual to be sure.
3. Engine
Just as we already pointed out, the engine number will be displayed clearly on the car engine. It is well positioned in such a way that it will be hard to miss. Maybe you have been seeing it but you do not know what it is, well now you do.
4. Registration Certificate
After you have registered your vehicle with the local RTO, your engine number will be printed on the Registration Certificate and you can get it from there.
5. Car Dealership
Your car dealership can easily track and provide your car engine details. You can contact them and they will get it done for you.
Is it possible to get your vehicle details online?
Nowadays, almost everything is digital and life has become much easier. So yes, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has an online national registry referred to as VAHAN. This digital registry allows for car owners to trace and get their car details online.
But due to security reasons and in a bid to protect personal data, the website does not display the whole engine and chassis number.
You can visit the VAHAN website – (https://vahan.nic.in/nrservices/faces/user/login.xhtml). When you get there click on Know Your Vehicle Details, then proceed to input your car’s registration number.
At this point it may require a “captcha code” and after you have keyed that in, you can then click on the Search Vehicle button.
Clearly by now, you can tell where and how to find the VIN, chassis number as well as the Engine number of your vehicle.
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