BMW VIN Decoder

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BMW VIN Check: What is a BMW VIN?

The modern luxury vehicle market owes a lot to BMW. The 02 Series combined sports car performance with sedan practicality, racking up race wins through the 60s and 70s. This set the course for the brand, leading to legendary vehicles like the M3 and 8 Series. Meanwhile, smooth-running boxer twin and flat four engines established BMW motorcycles as the standard for touring. Today, both the car and motorcycle divisions are known for offering vehicles with class-leading technology.

If you want to know more about your BMW, or you’re looking at buying one of these sporty luxury vehicles, you can learn a lot by getting a VIN check. Our search engine can decode the vehicle identification number, telling you about where and when it was built. It also tells you information about the model and the equipment installed at the factory. Looking for information on bikes? We also have a BMW motorcycle VIN decoder. Just type in your bike’s VIN into the search box, and you’ll get the same results as our car VIN search.

List of BMW Models

BMW VIN Number Lookup

When you’re spending money on a used luxury vehicle, authenticity is important. Is the car you’re looking at really an “M” model, or does it just have some extra badges? Does it have the correct engine and the right equipment? While there are several BMW VIN decoder options, our free decoder is the easiest to use. Just type the VIN number into the search box, and you’ll get a VIN report that organizes all of its information in an easy to read format.

The VIN is also invaluable for repairing and upgrading your BMW. Trim and model information helps confirm the compatibility of replacement parts. If there are running changes over a model’s life, the serial number can be used to determine which parts were used on your vehicle. Using our BMW decoder, VIN information is just a click away.

Best of all, you can use our BMW VIN decoder free of charge. Want to know more? By ordering a full VIN report, you can find out about the vehicle’s history. This draws on official information from state and private agencies, telling you about previous owners, accidents, police reports and more.

Where to Search for the VIN?

Here’s where you can find the VIN on your BMW car or crossover:

  • Stand in front of the driver’s door and look through the windshield. You should see the VIN printed on the corner of the dashboard.
  • Open the driver’s side door. Look for a black sticker on the side or front of the B pillar. This sticker lists the weight limits of the vehicle, as well as the manufacturing date. The VIN is printed directly above a bar code. If you don’t see the sticker here, check the B pillar on the passenger’s side of the vehicle.
  • Open the hood. The VIN number is etched into the body, usually on the front or the top of the passenger’s side strut tower. On some vehicles, you may also find it etched into the top of the inner fender well, directly behind the strut tower.
  • Remove the rear license plate. Behind the plate, you’ll find the VIN printed on a sticker.
  • On most BMWs, the VIN is also stamped into the floor pan below the front passenger’s seat. There will be a small carpet flap you can lift to see it.

Here’s where you can find the VIN on your BMW motorcycle:

  • Look at the frame, below the rear brake lever, below the left side of the gas tank or air box, and next to the headlight. There should be a VIN plate or sticker on one of these locations.
  • On fully-faired motorcycles, look for a small tag hanging down from the bottom of the frame.
  • Lift up the seat, and look for a sticker next to the battery.

With both motorcycles and cars, you can also find the VIN number on any official documents you have with the vehicle. The VIN is used on titles and insurance policies to identify the vehicle. Repair shops may also list the VIN on receipts.

Where to find VIN on a vehicle?
🟡 Basic Report Cost: Free
🟡 BMW VIN Database: 9.4M+
🟡 Car-on-Sale Photos: Up to 100
🟡 Full Report: Extensive History

Comprehensive VIN Decoder Guide

CodeCountryCodeCountryCodeCountryCodeCountry
G 1986 T 1996 6 2006 G 2016
H 1987 V 1997 7 2007 H 2017
J 1988 W 1998 8 2008 J 2018
K 1989 X 1999 9 2009 K 2019
L 1990 Y 2000 A 2010 L 2020
M 1991 1 2001 B 2011 M 2021
N 1992 2 2002 C 2012 N 2022
P 1993 3 2003 D 2013 P 2023
R 1994 4 2004 E 2014 R 2024
S 1995 5 2005 F 2015 S 2025

Both cars and motorcycles have a 17 digit VIN that follows the same basic format. Here’s the type of information you’ll find when you look up this number.

The first three characters are the manufacturer identifier:

  • The first character is the country where the vehicle was manufactured. A “W” is used on vehicles built in Germany, while a “4” or “5” is used on vehicles built in the U.S.
  • The second character is the make. While most makes have a single character for all models, BMW uses two characters. “B” is for BMW Germany, while “U” is for BMW USA.
  • The third character is the vehicle type. “A” and “S” are used for passenger vehicles. “A” and “X” are used for utility vehicles. A “1” is used on motorcycles.

Characters 4 through 8 identify the type of vehicle:

  • The fourth character is the model line. These characters are frequently reused. For example, an “A” could be any number of 3-Series models built from the late 80s to the early 2000s.
  • The fifth character is the series. This character is frequently reused. An “A” in this position could be one of several 318 or 325 models produced in the late 80s or early 90s, or it could be an X5.
  • The sixth character is the body type. Again, this digit is frequently reused. A “1” in this position could be a 3 Series, a 5 Series, an M6, an 8 Series or a Z8.
  • The seventh digit is the vehicle type. “3”, “4”, and “7” are used for passenger vehicles, including both cars and SUVs.
  • On most vehicles, the eighth character is the safety restraint system. “0” is for manual seat belts only. “1” is for a driver’s side air bag. “2” and “3” are for driver and passenger side air bags. “4” is for an advanced driver and passenger air bag. On a few vehicles, this indicates the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, or GVWR.

Character 9 is a check digit. This is generated using a formula that accounts for other characters in the VIN. If the result of the formula isn’t the same as this character, there’s something wrong with the VIN. This reduces data entry errors.

Character 10 is the model year. This alternates between letters and numbers. Letters “O” and “Q” aren’t used, so they aren’t confused with the number “0”. Digits 1-9 were last used from 2001 to 2009. 2023 models use “P” for their year code.

Character 11 is the plant where the vehicle was assembled:

CodePlant
A, F and KMunich, Germany
B, C, D, GDingolfing, Germany
E, J, PRegensburg, Germany
LGreer, South Carolina, United States

Characters 12 through 17 are the vehicle’s production number. These digits are reused, but no vehicle will have the same production number and matching characters for the rest of the VIN.

BMW VIN Samples

Using our VIN decoder, BMW factory information takes just a few seconds to retrieve. Here are some examples of the information you’ll get from our site:

  • WB10554A5XZA51663:  1999 K 1200 RS motorcycle built in Germany
  • WBA3A5C57CFJ89971:  2012 328i with a 2.0 liter engine built in Germany
  • WBANU5C51AC364374:  2010 528i with a 3.0 liter engine built in Germany
  • 2017 BMW 330i

    2017 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA8B9G50HNU09615
    Listed for sale on:
    07/23/2018
    Price:
    $32,212
    Odometer:
    28,785 km
  • 2019 BMW 330i

    2019 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA5R7C57KAJ80910
    Listed for sale on:
    08/25/2023
    Price:
    $28,989
    Odometer:
    84,098 km
  • 2017 BMW 330i

    2017 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA8B9G33HNU51999
    Listed for sale on:
    09/01/2020
    Price:
    $22,483
    Odometer:
    82,702 km
  • 2019 BMW 330i

    2019 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA5R1C53KAK11437
    Listed for sale on:
    09/14/2019
    Price:
    $46,860
    Odometer:
    0 km
  • 2019 BMW 330i

    2019 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA5R1C59KAK08915
    Listed for sale on:
    08/20/2022
    Price:
    $36,994
    Odometer:
    46,640 km
  • 2019 BMW 330i

    2019 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA5R7C58KFH30105
    Listed for sale on:
    09/19/2019
    Price:
    $0
    Odometer:
    0 km
  • 2020 BMW 330i

    2020 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA5R7C04LFH50146
    Listed for sale on:
    10/11/2023
    Price:
    $31,388
    Odometer:
    69,099 km
  • 2019 BMW 330i

    2019 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA5R7C57KAJ79448
    Listed for sale on:
    11/23/2022
    Price:
    $31,889
    Odometer:
    53,391 km
  • 2017 BMW 330i

    2017 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA8B9C58HK676475
    Listed for sale on:
    05/19/2022
    Price:
    $25,598
    Odometer:
    53,519 km
  • 2020 BMW 330i

    2020 BMW 330i

    VIN 3MW5R1J06L8B04631
    Listed for sale on:
    02/15/2021
    Price:
    $26,900
    Odometer:
    47,448 km
  • 2017 BMW 330i

    2017 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA8B9G51HNU51291
    Listed for sale on:
    11/20/2018
    Price:
    $33,709
    Odometer:
    0 km
  • 2017 BMW 330i

    2017 BMW 330i

    VIN WBA8B9C56HK675700
    Listed for sale on:
    01/30/2024
    Price:
    $6,000
    Odometer:
    182,837 km

Frequently Asked Questions

Locations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, there are three places you can find the code on most vehicles:

- Look through the windshield at the dashboard. On the driver’s side, you should see a small metal plate with the number stamped into it.
- Open the driver’s door. Look at the front and side of the door pillar for an I.D. sticker. It usually has the manufacturer’s logo on it. The code should be on this sticker.
- Open the hood. You may see a sticker on the firewall or near the passenger’s side strut tower. Some cars have the number engraved in one of these areas.

Since this number is used to identify the vehicle on official documents, you can also find it on the title, the window sticker, and on insurance policies.

We also decode numbers for RVs, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. If you need to decode an RV number, make sure it’s the one issued by the chassis manufacturer, not the RV outfitter.

No. Canadian and Mexican cars usually use the same format. Other countries use their own formats.

It’s up to the manufacturer to determine what they want to include for some parts of the number. For example, some companies don’t include information about transmissions or trim levels.

Usually, no. A few manufacturers stamp the code into the engine. If the VINs on the engine and car match, then it’s the original engine. On most vehicles, there isn’t anything that ties an engine to a specific vehicle. At most, looking up the vehicle on our website will tell you if a different type of engine was installed. For example, if someone swaps a V8 into a Ford Mustang, our site will tell you it originally came with a V6.

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