Many BMW owner has a question "is there a free BMW VIN lookup?". Yes, absolutely! Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) helps you to get a detailed specification of a vehicle. Each car manufacturer provides a unique VIN for each vehicle, BMW is no exception. All VIN codes and their decodings are publicly accessible - you can use our BMW VIN decoder online to view this data.
How to Check a BMW VIN Number?
Locate the VIN
The easiest way to find a VIN code is to look through the car's documents. It can be Title, Registration, Insurance, or Owner's Manual - all of the following should have what you are looking for.
If you don't have any of those (e.g. in a car lot), you can find a VIN directly on the car. The locations may vary on each model, but the most common places are:
- On the top of a dashboard behind the speedometer
- In front of an engine block
- Under the spare tire
- On the side of a driver's door
If you cannot find the VIN there, you can always call an official dealer and tell your model and year. They will gladly help you with it.
Perform Online Search
Once you've got your VIN, go to a BMW VIN number decoder. We would recommend use our service since we provide more data than regular decoders (we'll tell about it down below). In general, all you need for BMW VIN lookup is to enter this vehicle identification number.
Be careful: there are many scam sites that perform BMW VIN number lookup for money. Don't trust them - you shouldn't pay for it since this information is 100% free!
Look Through Decoded Data
All manufacturers provide information on vehicles in a unified format. Sounds like a good thing: you can get information on any model in a single format - it simplifies reading it a lot. But it has a downside too - not all model-specific characteristics are included in a regular BMW VIN number decoder. Here are 2 lists of things you can and cannot check with a regular VIN decoder:
Included:
- Make
- Model
- Year
- Plant City
- Body Type
- Number of Doors
- Number of Seats
- Number of Seat Rows
- Drive train
- Number of Cylinders
- Displacement
- Fuel Type
- Engine configuration (Inline, V-shaped, etc.)
- Airbag Locations and Number
- Safety Features (ABS, ESC, etc.)
Not Included:
- Color
- Options (interior materials, audio system, etc.)
- Service History
- Accident History
- Recalls
- Complaints
- BMW warranty check by VIN
Why Do We Have the Best BMW VIN Decoder?
The benefits come from the downsides of regular BMW VIN number check: we have the information others haven't. We constantly scanning the web to collect all the missing information about each car. Here is a breakdown of additional features you get when using Vin Sonar to decode BMW VIN:
Accident history
If the car was hit, chances are it will be sold at auction by the insurance company. All those lots are saved to our database and accessible via our free BMW VIN check. If VIN you are looking for was sold at a car auction, we will show you its condition and all the photos, so you'll be able to see the damage yourself.
Recalls and Complaints
We collect and store all of the model-related complaints and recalls. With our BMW recall VIN check you get valuable information on the weak spots of the vehicle you are interested in - check them in the first place.
Find BMW Window Sticker by VIN
Each new vehicle has its windows sticker with detailed information about its options so you can check BMW options by VIN. Besides, it also contains the price of all those features - important information to estimate the adequate price for a used car.
BMW Motorcycle VIN Decoder
All of the above is also applicable to BMW bikes. You can perform the BMW motorcycle VIN lookup the same way. The only difference is the VIN locations on a vehicle: you can find it on a headstock and a frame.