BMW VIN Decoding

Decoding Vehicle Identification Number
First 3 characters represent the Manufacturer's code

• 4US – BMW NA MFG
• NCO – BMW South Africa
• WBA – BMW AG
• WBS – Motorsport

Characters 4 - 7 are the Vehicle Model Code
Character 8 is the Safety System Identifier

• 0 - Seatbelts
• 1 - Seatbelts, Drivers airbag
• 2 - Seatbelts, Dual airbags
• 3 - Seatbelts, 2nd generation, dual front airbags
• 4 - Seatbelts, Dual-stage advanced front airbags

Character 9 is a Check digit
Character 10 is the Model / Year Identifier

• B – 1981
• C – 1982
• D – 1983
• E – 1984
• F – 1985
• G – 1986
• H – 1987
• J – 1988
• K – 1989
• L – 1990
• M – 1991
• N – 1992
• P – 1993
• R – 1994
• S – 1995
• T – 1996
• V – 1997
• W – 1998
• X – 1999
• Y – 2000
• 1 – 2001
• 2 – 2002
• 3 – 2003
• 4 – 2004
• 5 – 2005
• 6 – 2006
• 7 – 2007
• 8 – 2008
• 9 – 2009
• A – 2010
• B – 2011
• C – 2012

Character 11 is the Plant Code

• A, F, K – Munich, Germany
• C, B, D, G – Dingolfing, Germany
• E, J, P – Regensburg, Germany
• L, M – Spartanburg, U.S.A
• N – Roslyn, South Africa
• W – Graz, Austria
• V – Leipzig, Germany

Characters 12 – 17 are the Sequential Production Numbers of the Vehicle.

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