From:Tim >starwolf@bewellnet.com
> I'll have to go to the dealer and check this out--it really sounds like
the Dodge Boys have actually come out with something we can all use. Maybe
this is the dealers way of telling if a car(truck) had been stolen and was
in a chop-shop to cover up illegal selling.
-----Original Message-----
From: catlin <catlin@erols.com>
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
Date: Friday, April 17, 1998 7:49 AM
Subject: DML: Re: Info on 1993 Dakota Response
>
>> Jon Steiger
>> Subject: Re: DML: info on 1993 Dakota
>>
>> At 10:41 PM 4/16/98 -0500, you wrote:
>> >T & J wrote:
>> > Hate to tell you this- but NO. The vehicle VIN # is used for the
>plants
>> > where motor, body, and in what country your vehicles were built
>in-either
>> > Canada or USA. It also tells of course the vehicle serial # and what
>> > day,week and year. This of course uses the VIN#'s in a sequense by
>using
>> > certain numbers and letters that have to be interperted. If you really
>want
>> > to know the options and what was installed on the vehicle in the
>building
>> > process, you have to find that hidden BUILD SHEET from the company
>that's in
>> > your vehicle--your guess is as good as mine where it is, but usually
>they're
>> > in the springs of the seats or under the carpet, or any other place
>that's
>> > protected from weather,like behind some plastic panels.
>> [...]
>> >I beg to differ. When I first got my truck, I took it back to the
>dealer for a
>> >small oil leak. I know about everybody there, my family has been dealing
>with
>> >this dealership for ever, and one of the guys asked my for my VIN. I
>gave it to
>> >him, and he returned with a gift: a print out of about two pages of
>every
>> >option/fact about my truck I could ever want, from gears, to gas tank,
>to color,
>> >to engine, to interior color...everything, just off the VIN. Dealers
>can do
>> >that. If it's common practice for every one, I don't know, but it's
>possible,
>> >and took him about 30 seconds.
>>
>>
>> You're both right. :-)
>>
>> The VIN itself actually only gives build info; this info is actually
>encoded
>> right into the VIN. Stuff like the interior color, gas tank, gears, etc.
>are
>> not in the VIN, there's simply not enough room. :-) However, the VIN
>is a
>> unique identifer, and would make a great primary key in some sort of
>nationwide
>> database that Dodge dealers could tap into. When the truck was ordered
>or built,
>> it probably goes into the database, and it would be simple to tap into it
>using
>> the VIN to dig that info out again.
>>
>> Does anyone know if this database is national, or is Robert just lucky
>> enough to have a dealer that saves this info in its own database for the
>> vehicles it sells?
>>
>> -Jon-
>
>Jon,
> I also have a two page print out like Robert's for our 97 Dakota. It's
>called
>the "Vehicle Information Plus Summary Report" It list everything on the
>vehicle including the built date and time. You should be able to get it
>from any dealer. We bought our Dakota from one dealer and got the printout
>from another dealer when we were having work done.
>
>Mike Catlin
>R/T in Maryland
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:08:37 EDT