I have started my way into the light by contacting a person regarding his S4 that is for sale. I requested the VIN number to run a CarFax on, but the number he gave me was invalid. I don't think this was intentional as he gave me too many numbers and I think that he may have had a hard time reading those damn "dot-text" characters, because some of the numbers (6 and 8) could have been misread. I want to email him back with some explanation of what the entire VIN number should look like. At work, I have a site book-marked with a VIN number legend or key. I don't have it here and can't find it anywhere. Does anyone out there know of another web page that has this or can point me in the correct direction ? Thanks

 

Let's breakdown a sample US 1988 VIN (from the 1977-1988 P&T reference catalog)

Should be 17 characters:

WPOAAO92XJN800000

WPO- World manufacturing code (these are letters)
AAO- VDS Code-USA (these are letters)
92- First and second digit of type (model)
X- Filler, or test character
J- Model year(G=86, H=87, J=88,)
N- Place of production
8- Third digit of type (model)
00000-Serial number. (these are numbers)

Note: the serial number codes changed over the years according to the catalog. I picked an 88 but the catalog does not show what a 90's S4 serial number looks like.

HTH,
Greg

 

Dont forget the ROW cars (Rest of World) - that go
WPOZZZ92Z?S8nnnnn - cars not destined for USA have Z instead of US option codes.

Where ? is the year code, I believe starts in
1980=A,1981=B, 82=C,83=D, 84=E, 85=F, 86=G, 87=H, 88=J? etc, BUT I and O are omitted to avoid confusion with numbers I believe.

My 83 Euro is WPOZZZ92ZDS840812.

jp

 

Yes jpitman, I ran into that, all "oh's" are zero's. Didn't have a problem identifying one's or "eye's" though....
<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

 

Incidently, I think that the first letter is the country code- "W" is for German manufacture. "P0" is the manufacturer code- specifically Porsche [Volkswagen has "VW" here...], and the manufacturing sight for our cars is always "S"- Stuttgart. Some Boxsters have a "V" here for Finnish manufacture-

My '85 S2's number is WP0ZZZ92ZFS841526. My question is....what does "84" mean?

Normy!

 

Normy,
For your car WP0ZZZ92ZFS841526 it decodes as:

Posn Means Ex Means

1 Country of Manufacture (W=Germany)
2-3 Manufacturer Code (PO=Porsche)
4-6 Body Style (ZZZ=None=&gt;import)
7-8 Body Type (92=first part of 928)
9 Check Sum Digit (Z=means nothing not used for import)
10 Year (F=85)
11 Assembly Location (S=Stuttgart)
12-17 Serial Number (841526=Mfg Serial# (8 is the 8 of 928 model#)

More Details:

Pos

1 Country Of manufacture: 1 or 4 = USA, 2=Canada, 3=Mexico, J=Japan, Z=Italy, W=Germany, S=England....

2-3 Manufacturer Code: AU= Audi, 1x=Chevrolet, Fx=Ford, Cx=Chrysler,PO=Porsche

4 Body*: (varies by mfg) Porsche usually A Probably means 2 door Coupe Body (E=Targa, C=cabriolet...)

5 Engine Type*: (varies by mfg) A-probably just means gasoline Engine (911's are also A's & some are B's?)

6 Safety Equip*: (varies by mfg) 0=Manual seat belts (no Airbag) 1=Manual belts +Drv AB, 2=Manual belts + Drv & Pass AB

7-8 Model Number (for Porsche 1st 2 digits of model =&gt; 92 for 928

9 Checksum**: for validation of VIN# authenticity (for reading errors)

10 Model Year: A=1980, B=81, C=82, D=83...H=87, J=88...N=92, P=93, R=94...T=96, V=97...Y=00, 1=01... (note No I,O,Q,Z,0)

11 Assembly Location: (Varies by MFG) For Porsche: S=Stuttgart

12-17 Serial prod'n. number (any - numeric) some specific meaning by mfg - Porsche #12=Last digit of model number


* based on common usage across manufacturers but is manufacturer specific.

**After all other characters in the VIN have been determined by the manufacturer
the check digit is calculated by carrying out a mathematical computation
..Values are added and the total is divided by 11. The remainder is the check digit number.
The correct numeric remainder - zero through nine (0-9) will appear.
However, if the remainder is 10 the letter "X" is used to designate the check
digit value/number.

Links:

<a href="http://www.analogx.com/contents/vinview.htm" target="_blank">www.analogx.com/contents/vinview.htm</a>

Alan

 

On the serial number as stated the "8" indicates
the car is a 928.
The "4" should indicate the market it was built
for such as ROw , US or Japan.
This digit also varied on the early cars when there were ROW standard and ROW "S" version built in the same year.
The last 4 digits should be the actual chassis built for that model year but I've never heard of
an 0001 car.
Also the final 4 digits start at 9500 for Japan cars for some reason.

 

Jim,
For Digits 12-17 we agree that #12 is the 3rd digit of the model type (so its an 8).

I think that digit 13 is actually some designation for a combination of body & engine type (no distinction for transmission type).
[see: <a href="http://members.rennlist.com/pirtle/s4specs.htm" target="_blank">http://members.rennlist.com/pirtle/s4specs.htm</a> ]
This may well be different for different worldwide markets of course. We know its a 6 for a USA S4 87-89(+?), Obviously it's a "4" for an 83-85 Euro S2, My USA '94 GTS is a "2"...

Anyone else able to contribute to help decode the rest of these...?

Its clear that digits 14-17 are just a serial number without special meanings by position which suggests expectations for low build quantities...

Alan

 

So can someone give me my option codes? The VIN on my 78 Euro is 9288102078 ...thats all. No a letter in the bunch.

 

Carl,
The standardized VIN#'s started in 1980 (although I believe they were not mandatory right away so Porsche did not adopt until 1981). The years before this all had manufacturer specific formats - so Porsche had their own system when yours was built.

The 928 speaks for itself. The 810 is a year and major feature indicator of some kind .. try to figure this part out* - while the last 4 digits are the production serial numbers (unique by car). Pretty basic so it isn't going to tell you much I'm afraid.

You may want to check out Dave Roberts info: <a href="http://www.928gt.com/" target="_blank">928 Specialists</a>

Look under tips/links -&gt; 928 Evolution*, also look under -&gt; Option Codes By Year - it has option codes for your years (both). Look for a label in the manual or check under the carpet in the trunk (above the gas tank) for the build label with option codes.

* this number seems in conflict with DR's '820' so maybe 810 denotes a Euro version?

Also check the engine, transmission & paint codes in the same areas.

A little goldmine of data huh? (thanks to DR!)

Alan

PS I'm pretty sure Supercharger wasn't a factory option

 

Robert,
Have him transcribe the Vin from his insurance card and bump it against the Vin plate drivers side windshield pillar -might be one on a riveted plate on the brace with the hood latch.

 

Everyone,

Thanks for all of the good advice. The date when I first posted that was 3/30/2002. Since then, I have purchased the car and am well on my way to make sure that the sons and daughters of the good people at Devek and 928 International, as well as Jager will have very good college educations.

This thread looks like it would be just the thing to place under the "new 928 buyer" category that used to be here. Thanks again.

Rob