Enter the 17-character VIN of your AC to see the factory basics. Free, with no registration.
Look on the dashboard, the driver's door frame or in the registration document.
Type all 17 characters. The letters I, O and Q are never used in a VIN.
See the factory basics for free, and order a full report for the history behind the VIN.
Enter the 17 characters of an AC VIN and the decoder reads out the manufacturer, the model year and the country of manufacture. It is free and needs no registration. Our data for the brand covers four models, among them Ace, Aceca, Cobra and Cobra GT Roadster, with model years from 1956 to 2023, Convertible and Roadster body styles, and a highest listed power of 370 hp.
A VIN does not record accidents, mileage, theft or previous owners. That information comes from a paid vehicle history report.
Pick a AC model to see how its VIN works.
Every VIN built to the modern standard has 17 characters, and the letters I, O and Q are never used. The first three are the WMI, which identifies the manufacturer and the country. For AC we do not currently have any WMI codes mapped, so there is no code to quote here. Our list is not complete, and a VIN that starts with other characters is not a reason for doubt.
Characters 4 to 8 describe the vehicle, and character 9 is a check digit. North American VINs require it, while many European VINs fill that position differently. The 10th character gives the model year and the 11th the plant. Characters 12 to 17 are the serial number.
As an example, a P in the 10th position stands for 2023, the latest model year in our AC data, and an M stands for 2021. The 17-character format applies to cars built since 1981, so the earliest years in the 1956 to 2023 range come from before it was standardised.
Every VIN has six parts. This is what each of them means.
| Part | Characters | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| WMI | 1 to 3 | World manufacturer identifier: who built the vehicle and where |
| VDS | 4 to 8 | Vehicle descriptor: model, body type and engine, as set by the manufacturer |
| Check digit | 9 | Control value that helps confirm the VIN is valid |
| Model year | 10 | Code for the model year |
| Plant | 11 | Code for the assembly plant |
| Serial | 12 to 17 | Production sequence number of this vehicle |
On the driver's side, visible through the windshield.
On a sticker on the door frame or the edge of the door.
Printed in the vehicle registration or title.
Stamped on the firewall or the frame on many models.
A VIN is built from six parts, and each one says something about the vehicle. Our guides explain how to read it and what it can and cannot tell you.
Enter the 17-character VIN and see the factory basics in seconds.
Look at the vehicle registration or title document first, then check the car itself, where the VIN is usually stamped or shown on a plate. Compare the characters on the car with the paperwork, one by one.
The first three characters are the WMI, which names the manufacturer and country. We have no WMI codes mapped to AC at the moment, and our list is incomplete, so the decoder may not match every AC VIN.
Check the 10th character. A P means 2023 and an M means 2021, for example. Our AC data runs from 1956 to 2023, but the letter system only applies to VINs of cars built since 1981.
It cannot show accidents, mileage, theft or owners, because none of that is stored in the VIN. It only decodes the characters of the number itself.
Make sure the VIN on the car matches the documents and that all 17 characters read cleanly. Then compare the decoded model year with what the seller says, and ask for service records and proof of ownership.