By Arnab Dey
Getting a good deal on a used Ford car depends on how much work you’re willing to put in. You may either take out time to research and buy a great car or buy a poor one at face value. From our experience, the latter doesn’t always end well.
The Ford car brand is one of the most sought-after brands in the world since its inception in 1903. They are particularly revered for their sturdy heavy-duty trucks. However, they have a lot more vehicle types on offer. They also manufacture, market, and service other commercial vehicles, trucks, sports, and lately; electric cars.
There is a high demand for new and used Ford cars worldwide and rightly so; Ford’s penchant for producing quality vehicles has not gone unnoticed. However, when it comes to buying a used Ford car, it is necessary to do a Ford VIN lookup, you can do it with EpicVin service free and quickly. This entails a history report of the car you are interested in. It’s free and takes less than a minute. You can also get a total vehicle report by paying a small fee.
Ford VIN number Lookup
A Ford Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a unique code consisting of a serial number used by the Ford company to identify individual cars or vehicles.
When buying a used Ford car, a VIN lookup is necessary. The identification number is made up of 17 characters (numbers and letters) which is a special identifier of that particular car throughout its lifetime.
The Vehicle Identification Number helps to provide crucial information about cars, such as the make, model, the country it was made in, engine, and vehicle specifications. It helps give detailed information about the history of such cars if it has been involved in an accident, oil change record, maintenance history, and what previous owners have changed in the car so far.
Where is the VIN found?
As stated earlier, before you buy a used Ford car, it is important to look out for the vehicle identification number. The VIN can be found in different parts of the car such as:
- A printed plate towards the driver’s dashboard side behind the windshield; The VIN can be viewed from outside the vehicle.
- The door frame of the driver’s side: The VIN is printed in this area as well. You can check around the part of the door that is attached to the body of the car
- On the engine block beneath the car hood
The VIN can also be found on door jambs, on the registration and vehicle papers, and on insurance cards too.
Comprehensive Ford VIN Decoder Guide
This guide gives a simple explanation of the meaning of the 17 characters contained in a Ford’s Identification Number.
1st Digit represents the country where the vehicle was made e.g.
1– America
2– Canada
3– Mexico
6– Australia
9– Brazil
2nd Digit represents the manufacturer of the vehicle
3rd Digit specifies the group of plants.
4th Digit indicates the body type of the vehicle e.g;
Code Car model type
● A – a limousine with a 5-door hatch-back
● B – a limousine with a 3-door hatch-back
● C – a two-door coupe
● D – a two-door combination or three-door station wagon
● E – a two-door sedan or limousine with 3 doors.
● F – a four-door sedan
● H – a 5 door hatchback or combination
● L – a convertible
● N – a 5-door station wagon or 4 or 5-door cargo-passenger van
● P – a pickup
● S – a combi or minibus
● U – a 5-door hatchback or cargo-passenger van
● T – a two-door sedan or limousine
● V – a van
● W – a two-door combination.
5th and 6th Digits identify equipment specific to each car model.
The 7th and 8th Digits help to identify the assembly location of the car.
9th Digit indicates the model of the vehicle e.g;
Code. Model
● A Escort, Orion, and Focus.
● B Taunus, Cortina, Mondeo, and Cougar
● D Focus
● E Capri, Puma, and Probe
● F Fiesta and Courier
● G Granada and Scorpio
● J Fiesta, Courier, and Fusion
● R Ka
● U Maverick
● V Transit and Tourneo
● W Galaxy
The 11th Digit represents the year the car was manufactured. The letters I, O, and Q are not used because they look like the numbers 1,0 and 9. E.g;
Code Year Code Year.
E 1984 4 2004
F 1985 5 2005
G 1986 6 2006
H 1987 7 2007
J 1988 8 2008
K 1989 9 2009
L 1990 A 2010
M 1991 B 2011
N 1992 C 2012
P 1993 D 2013
R 1994 E 2014
S 1995 F 2015
T 1996 G 2016
V 1997 H 2017
W 1998 J 2018
The 12th digit indicates the month in which the car was manufactured. E.g;
Code. Month
B, J, L, C. January
R, U, Y, K. February
A, M, S, D. March
G, P, T, E. April
C, B, J, L. May
K, R, U, Y. June
D, A, M, S. July
E, G, P, T. August
L, C, B, J. September
Y, K, R, U. October
S, D, A, M. November
T, E, G, P. December
Digits 13 to 17 indicate the production number. It is unique to each vehicle as the same number can’t be used for two vehicles.
Examples of Ford VIN
● 1FTCR10UXTPA78180: means the vehicle is a 1996 Ford Ranger Splash 3.0l built in the United States.
● 2FADP3R47FL281540: this means it’s a 2015 Ford Focus Electric and hatchback 4-DR car built in Canada.
Car sites such as epicvin can help you decode your VIN for free! However, a complete vehicle report will set you back a few bucks.
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