Video: How to Find Your VIN

So think of it as a specific code for that particular car. So how do you find the VIN? Well, the easiest way is actually to look at the outside of the car at the base of the windshield on the driver's side. The government actually requires that someone standing outside the car next to the A-Pillar here, can see the VIN from where I'm standing. So you'll usually find it here, etched just beneath the glass, though, you might have to clear away some leaves or snow to get to it. Now, a cars vehicle certification label also has to show the VIN, that label is typically down here at the frame next to the driver's door. Sometimes though, it's actually on the inside portion of the door itself or down near the instrument panel. Either way, it's got to show a VIN. Another place you can typically find a VIN is on documentation inside the car. Things like the registration, maybe the insurance documents. A VIN can tell you where a car was built, as well as its year, make, model and engine, but most of that information is coded. (Car door closes shut) So you have to know exactly what you're looking for or plug it in online. Now, VINs can not have I, O or Q in them. So if you think it's an I but you're wondering if it's a one, it's always a one. Same with O, or zero, always a zero. Of course, if you plug in your own VIN and find out that you have un-repaired recalls, it's important that you get them fixed as soon as possible. (car trunk shuts)