Volkswagen VIN Codes
How to read Volkswagen VIN numbers
VIN and Chassis Numbers
The VIN (vehicle identification number) contains a lot of useful information.

Here is a sample VIN number: WVWDB4505LK005678

The first character represents the country of manufacture
1 = USA
3 = Mexico
9 = Brazil
W = Germany


The seventh and eight characters represent the model.

The tenth character represents the model year
A = 1980
B = 1981
C = 1982
D = 1983
E = 1984
F = 1985
G = 1986
H = 1987
J = 1988
K = 1989
L = 1990
M = 1991
N = 1992
P = 1993
R = 1994
S = 1995
T = 1996
V = 1997
W = 1998
X = 1999
Y = 2000
1 = 2001
2 = 2002
3 = 2003
4 = 2004
5 = 2005
6 = 2006
7 = 2007
8 = 2008
9 = 2009


The 12th thru 17th characters are the chassis number. This is the car's serial number, issued sequentially as each car is produced. So, the car with the sample VIN WVWDB4505LK005678 was the 5678th car built in 1990 in Germany.

This is very valuable information when determining whether a car was produced before or after a change. For example, a part description may mention fitting "Golf '85 - mid '88 thru chassis# J_110245"

This means it fits all 1985, 1986, and 1987 models, and also the first 110245 cars produced in 1988. The "J" indicates model year 1988, the "_" indicates the next character which does not matter, and the "110245" is the serial number.



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