Enter the 17-character VIN of your DC 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 DC decoder reads the manufacturer, the model year and the country of manufacture from it. Our data for the brand is small: one model, the Avanti, with version data covering model years 2012 to 2015.
The decoder is free and needs no registration. It reads only the VIN itself, so accidents, mileage, theft records and previous owners are not part of the result. That information comes from a paid vehicle history report.
Pick a DC model to see how its VIN works.
Every VIN has 17 characters, and the letters I, O and Q are never used. The first three characters are the WMI, which identifies the manufacturer. Characters 4 to 8 describe the vehicle, character 9 is a check digit, character 10 gives the model year, character 11 the plant, and characters 12 to 17 are the serial number.
At the moment we have no WMI codes mapped to DC, so we cannot list the first three characters or a country of manufacture for the brand. Our list of codes is not complete, and a VIN that starts with other characters is not a reason for doubt. Where we recognise a code, the decoder will use it.
The model year is the easiest part to check. Within the 2012 to 2015 range of our data, character 10 is C for 2012, D for 2013, E for 2014 and F for 2015. The check digit in position 9 is required in North America, while many European VINs fill that position differently.
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 documents first, then compare with the number on the car itself. It is often found at the base of the windscreen or on a sticker at the door frame. The VIN should have exactly 17 characters.
The first three characters are the WMI, which stands for the manufacturer. We currently have no WMI codes mapped to DC, so we cannot name them here. That is a gap in our list and says nothing about your VIN.
Look at the 10th character. For the years in our DC data, C means 2012, D means 2013, E means 2014 and F means 2015. The decoder reads this character for you.
It cannot show accidents, mileage, theft or the number of owners, because none of that is stored in a VIN. It also does not give body style or power figures for DC, as we have no data on those.
Make sure the VIN on the car matches the one in the documents, and that it has 17 characters without the letters I, O or Q. Check that the model year character fits the car you are being shown, and have the car inspected in person.