Enter the 17-character VIN of your Daimler 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 a 17-character VIN and the Daimler decoder reads the manufacturer, the model year and the country of manufacture from it. Our Daimler data covers 6 models, among them Super Eight, XJ 40, Landaulette and Coupe, with model years from 1969 to 2009. The body styles in the data are Sedan and Coupe, and the highest power figure we hold is 363 hp.
The decoder reads only the VIN itself, so it cannot tell you about accidents, mileage, theft or previous owners. That information comes from a paid vehicle history report. The decoder itself is free and needs no registration.
Pick a Daimler model to see how its VIN works.
The first three characters are the WMI, the world manufacturer identifier. For Daimler we recognise WD3, WD4 and WDA, and all three belong to Germany. So a VIN that begins with WDA, for example, is read as a Daimler built in Germany. Our WMI list is not complete, so a VIN that starts differently is simply one we may not have mapped to this brand.
Characters 4 to 8 form the descriptor section, and character 9 is the check digit. North American VINs must use the check digit, while many European VINs fill that position in a different way, so do not expect it to follow the same pattern on every Daimler.
Character 10 gives the model year. In the range of our Daimler data, the letters run from B for 1981 to Y for 2000, and then the digits 1 to 9 for 2001 to 2009. A tenth character of L means 1990, and a 9 means 2009. Character 11 marks the plant, and characters 12 to 17 are the serial number. The 17-character format applies to cars built since 1981, so for the earliest years in our data, from 1969, a car may carry a different kind of number.
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.
It is normally printed in the vehicle documents, and it is also stamped or fixed on the car itself. Compare the number on the car with the one in the papers, and make sure all 17 characters match before you enter them in the decoder.
The first three characters are the WMI, which identifies the manufacturer and the country. We map WD3, WD4 and WDA to Daimler, and all three point to Germany.
Look at the tenth character. For example, L stands for 1990, 6 for 2006 and 9 for 2009. Our Daimler version data covers 1969 to 2009, and the letter system applies to cars built since 1981.
It does not show accidents, mileage, theft records or the number of owners, because a VIN does not contain that information. The decoder only reads the manufacturer, model year and country of manufacture from the 17 characters.
Check that the VIN on the car matches the documents and that all 17 characters are readable and consistent. Then see whether the model year character fits the year the seller states, and whether the country of manufacture is what you would expect. Also have the car inspected in person.