VIN for a Used 911
06-12-2001, 01:17 AM
#1
Track Day
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VIN for a Used 911
I am in the process of buying my first 911. I am looking at a 1987 911 Carrra coupe.
I got the VIN from the current owner and ran it through carfax - its first registration was in 1991 at 31,000 miles. Is this normal for a car not to be listed until it is 4 years old?
Secondly, the VIN does not seem to match the VIN range in the 911 Red Book. Red Book lists the VIN range for a US delivered 911 carrera as: WPOABO91CHS12#### where # equals the range of cars built which was 0001 through 2916. The VIN the dealer gave me (through email - I have not gone to see the car - it's about 2 hours away from me) has a 6 instead of the letter C in the VIN in the 9th position of the VIN.
I looked up in car fax for the VIN listed with a C and received a record not found. Can someone shed some light on this mystery to me? -if it is a mystery...
Thanks for your help.
I got the VIN from the current owner and ran it through carfax - its first registration was in 1991 at 31,000 miles. Is this normal for a car not to be listed until it is 4 years old?
Secondly, the VIN does not seem to match the VIN range in the 911 Red Book. Red Book lists the VIN range for a US delivered 911 carrera as: WPOABO91CHS12#### where # equals the range of cars built which was 0001 through 2916. The VIN the dealer gave me (through email - I have not gone to see the car - it's about 2 hours away from me) has a 6 instead of the letter C in the VIN in the 9th position of the VIN.
I looked up in car fax for the VIN listed with a C and received a record not found. Can someone shed some light on this mystery to me? -if it is a mystery...
Thanks for your help.
06-12-2001, 01:26 AM
#2
5th Gear
Join Date: May 2001
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The ninth digit is a check digit so the 6 is right (and maybe the Red Book listed "c" for check). In my VIN that digit is an 8.
I don't know why the Carfax records wouldn't begin until 1991. Perhaps someone else will step up with an answer to that one.
I don't know why the Carfax records wouldn't begin until 1991. Perhaps someone else will step up with an answer to that one.
06-12-2001, 03:11 AM
#4
Carfax is only as good as the information provided to them, and in some cases that's sketchy. It's not uncommon at all to see a "first registration" occurring well into the life of an older car.
As far as the serial number goes, make sure they have the correct number posted. The number on the pillar (the correct number for the assembled car) doesn't always match some of the other numbers, plus there's always the possibility of a poorly written down number or a misread character. For example, my chassis number has something like a "ZZZZZ" sequence in it, and when I saw it I went into a panic thinking the car was a chop-shop job, only to find out that it was normal for my '91 C4 to be labelled like that.
Good luck,
Bill Wagner
As far as the serial number goes, make sure they have the correct number posted. The number on the pillar (the correct number for the assembled car) doesn't always match some of the other numbers, plus there's always the possibility of a poorly written down number or a misread character. For example, my chassis number has something like a "ZZZZZ" sequence in it, and when I saw it I went into a panic thinking the car was a chop-shop job, only to find out that it was normal for my '91 C4 to be labelled like that.
Good luck,
Bill Wagner