audi1688

VIN Decoding? Can you figure what options are on a car by looking at the VIN?

Still-Watching

not sure if any options would be encoded into the VIN

Chekm8

here's from an old site; <a href="http://www.autoinsurancetips.com/audi_vin.htm">http://www.autoinsurancetips.com/audi_vin.htm </a>

John Stahmann

Like Engine, Model of car, etc.

The first 3 digits are the World Manufacture Index - First digit is the country of origin. These are mandated by the SAE:

1 = US
2 = Canada
3 = Mexico
W = West Germany
J = Japan
K = Korea
Etc

The next digit tells the manufacturer of the car:

G = General Motors
A = Audi
P = Porsche
H = Honda
U = Quattro GMBH
Etc.

The next digit is the Vehicle type, which can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer:

1 = Pickup truck
U = Passenger car (Audi)
W = Passenger car (VW)

General Motors uses the 3rd digit to define GM brand (1 = Chevrolet, 2 = Pontiac, C = Chevrolet Truck, T = GMC Truck, etc.)

The next 6 digits are the Vehicle Description Section. These are not SAE mandated and are determined by each manufacturer, so there's a lot of variance. For VW/Audi vehicles:

4 - Usually Body Style (2 door, 4 door, etc)
5 - Usually Engine (1.8T, 2.8, 2.7T, 4.2, etc)
6 - Usually Restraint System
7-8 - Usually Model of Vehicle (A4, A6, A8, etc)
9 - Check Digit
10 - SAE Mandated Model Year:

A - 1980
B - 1981
C - 1982
D - 1983
E - 1984
F - 1985
G - 1986
H - 1987
J - 1988
K - 1989
L - 1990
M - 1991
N - 1992
P - 1993
R - 1994
S - 1995
T - 1996
V - 1997
W - 1998
X - 1999
Y - 2000
1 - 2001
2 - 2002
3 - 2003
4 - 2004

11th Digit = assembly plant:

A - Ingolstadt
B - Brussels
E - Emden
G - Graz
H - Hanover
K - Osnabruck
M - Mexico
N - Neckarsulm
P - Brazil
S - Stuttgart
V - Westmoreland, PA. (USA)
W - Wolfsburg
Y - Spain (SEAT)

12-17 Production Serial Number of the Vehicle.

Also, an easy way to spot a Gray Market german car is by the 3-6 digits. In cars produced for the German market those digits would be ZZZ, so a Gray Market Porsche would start out with WPOZZZ.

John