One of the most important checks you should carry out when buying your brand new, tokunbo or some Nigerian used cars is a VIN check. If you are wondering why you need a VIN check for a brand new car, i'll burst your bubble by telling you that some used cars are refurbished and sold as brand new.

You are on your own if you still buy cars without doing a VIN check in this day and age that cars with multiple combo accidents are trooping into Nigeria on a daily basis.

I've discussed with several people who think the VIN of a car is one covert number that you need some high level security clearance to have access to. Some even say they don't have a clue how to locate the VIN. Don't allow any car seller to use this bread to take your soup away.

Today, Autojosh.com will be taking us through 9 places we can find the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) of our vehicles.



1. Under The Front Windshield On The Driver's Side
This is about the easiest place to check the VIN of a car. You don't need to open the door of the car. You don't even need to touch the car. All you need to do is stand close to the windshield on the driver's side. Look at the lower part of the windshield where it meets the dashboard. There it is in the picture below.






2. Driver's Side B-Pillar
By default, most people check either the first option above or this second option which is also very simple. Just open the driver's door and check the sticker on the B-Pillar that the door jams into.






3. On The Driver's Door Frame
In some cars, the VIN sticker can also be found on the inner part of the driver's door. Open the door and check its edges i.e that part of the door that jams into the B-Pillar.






4. Near The Driver's Door Hinge 
The part that has the door hinge as seen in the photo below






5. Under The Bonnet
Another place to find the VIN of your car is by opening the bonnet. The yellow arrows in the photo below are pointing to the places you can find the VIN. It may be found on a sticker or engraved to the body.






6. Vehicle Documents:
This is one easy place to spot the VIN of a car especially when the car is not in sight. You can check the vehicle licence, bill of lading, custom papers, etc. I recommend that you confirm the accuracy of the VIN in the documents with what is actually on the vehicle as soon as you can just to be sure that there is no error in the numbers on the document.




7. Under the Rear Wheel Well
Some vehicles have their VIN located in the rear wheel well. In some cases mud must have covered the thing.






8. Underneath the Front Chassis






9. Spare Tyre Compartment in the Boot
Open the boot of your car, lift the spare tyre and check underneath the spare tyre.






If you still can't find the VIN of your car, there's a problem somewhere. If you found yours in a place that is not included in this list, don't forget to give us a hint in the comment section.

Note: The importance of VIN checks cannot be overemphasized but do not rely solely on it as some VINs may have been altered and some records may have been omitted or not reported.



See some of the information you can get through car VIN checks HERE


https://autojosh.com/places-car-vin

Very important.

Those car sellers on Nairaland should automatically add their VIN numbers to it.

I asked one some days for it,and he quickly removed the post. We should be extra vigilant.

Very important info for people.

The VIN can also be found by reading the vehicle software or control units with specialized tools.

This is useful in cases where the VIN is absent or removed from other locations in the vehicle.

A few of the other advantages or uses of a VIN report:

- Determine factory vehicle specifications: Make, Model, Year, Trim, type of transmission (Automatic, Manual, CVT, etc), factory colour, type of interior (cloth vs leather vs mixed), etc.

- Determine use history:

Date of manufacture, Country of use, number of previous owners, liens or loans, mileage, use as taxi, police vehicle, etc

- Determine damage history:

Title (registration) status: Clean title, Salvage title, etc

Number and dates of recorded accidents and collisions, flood and water damage, theft and vandalism, mileage and odometer rollback, VIN defacing, and so much more.

-Other:

Country exported from and to, to verify a car was shipped to Nigeria (Lagos) or Benin (Cotonou)

A VIN Check and report is an indispensable tool when planning to purchase any vehicle, and should always be an initial step, combined with thorough physical inspection subsequently.

Also under passenger side seats

Na after i buy by car i run VIN check . Me after the check

Dual information.
1. For owners
2. For thieves

Nice info

The reason why I dey read this post na because say God go soon provide

Good info

Thanks for the information. How do you get VIN details in case you are not buying directly yourself?

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Computergloba:
[b]

How much to run this report for me? I am at the verge of buying a 2007 Highlander.

supereagle:
Thanks for the information. How do you get VIN details in case you are not buying directly yourself?

You mean getting the VIN itself or a VIN report Sir?

Can anyone recommend where I can run free VIN checks?

KingAzari:


How much to run this report for me? I am at the verge of buying a 2007 Highlander.

Contact CarGuideNG right away before you make a purchase Sir, contact information in the profile and signature.

We have our much-in-demand premium report FREE for a limited time just for you, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Often, mistakes are made on the information of a car on the documents paper, best thing is to check the listed areas on your car for your Vehicle identification Number.

KingAzari:


How much to run this report for me? I am at the verge of buying a 2007 Highlander.

Sir

You can contact us (Computerglobal ) for your comprehensive vehicle reports.


Knowing the history of a used car or a tokunbo car before you decide to buy one can save you a lot of money down the road

Run a vin check and verify critical facts you need to buy a used car with confidence. check the title status, previous odometer readings,flood,airbag deployment,stolen,hail,biohazard and more

Dotng:
Can anyone recommend where I can run free VIN checks?

For a comprehensive VIN report you would need to pay for CarFax or AutoCheck reports, or our customized Premium Vehicle History Reports.

Free VIN reports would not contain the information you need to make important vehicle purchase decisions.

You could try www.vehiclehistory.com as well as www.nicb.org for specific checks such as flood history and total loss history.

https://www.autocheck.com/vehiclehistory/autocheck/en/flood

For free flood damage checks as well

You can also contact us directly for free NMVTIS reports, or visit

https://www.nairaland.com/4496684/free-nmvtis-report-mileage-flood

dannyoungstick:
Often, mistakes are made on the information of a car on the documents paper, best thing is to check the listed areas on your car for your Vehicle identification Number.

You are right sir

Have seen such but not all vin no/Chassis no on the vehicle documents are wrong..

This is just a second opinion to check the vin incase the vehicle isn't available

SmartToyota:
Very important info for people.

Ok �� you nor dey?

Nice information.

Pls anybody who knows how to check the vehicle history with VIN should teach us

Topmaike007:
The reason why I dey read this post na because say God go soon orovide

I join you in claiming this by saying Amen.

val15:
Pls anybody who knows how to check the vehicle history with VIN should teach us

You have 2 options for a vehicle history report for cars from the USA or Canada Sir.

Visit www.autocheck.com or www.carfax.com and enter the VIN, pay the USD fees and the reports would be sent to you.

Contact a Nigerian history platform to process the reports.

CarGuideNG provides that service at much less cost than AutoCheck or CarFax. We also charge minor fees in NGN for ease of transaction.

The other advantage CarGuideNG has is in our customized Premium Vehicle History Reports which contain more information than either plain AutoCheck or CarFax reports

We also offer reports for cars from other world regions such as parts of Europe and the Middle East.

Contact us for further explanation or a demonstration.

CarGuidNG:
The VIN can also be found by reading the vehicle software or control units with specialized tools.

This is useful in cases where the VIN is absent or removed from other locations in the vehicle.

A few of the other advantages or uses of a VIN report:

- Determine factory vehicle specifications: Make, Model, Year, Trim, type of transmission (Automatic, Manual, CVT, etc), factory colour, type of interior (cloth vs leather vs mixed), etc.

- Determine use history:

Date of manufacture, Country of use, number of previous owners, liens or loans, mileage, use as taxi, police vehicle, etc

- Determine damage history:

Title (registration) status: Clean title, Salvage title, etc

Number and dates of recorded accidents and collisions, flood and water damage, theft and vandalism, mileage and odometer rollback, VIN defacing, and so much more.

-Other:

Country exported from and to, to verify a car was shipped to Nigeria (Lagos) or Benin (Cotonou)

A VIN Check and report is an indispensable tool when planning to purchase any vehicle, and should always be an initial step, combined with thorough physical inspection subsequently.

Permit my ignorance but l will like to know how VIN keeps records of a damaged and repaired or refurbished car, is it that after repairing a vehicle from damage, the owner of the car reports it or what? Thank you.

SEGLIZ:

I join you in claiming this by saying Amen.

thanks