Introduction: Locating and Matching a Vehicles VIN for Appointments
Hello and welcome,
This is created specifically for the Thayer Honda, Bowling Green location. However, all are welcome in partaking through this instructional program.
Disclaimer: You will be working around vehicles. Before approaching a vehicle to identify the VIN, always ensure that the vehicle is off and in park. Failure to do so can result in serious injury.
I have created this for the further understanding of a vehicles identification number when matching the car to the appointment that was scheduled. It is important to know exactly what vehicle we are performing service on. This can be done by locating and decoding the VIN while matching it to the correct request order.
Tools Needed:
- Your provided Laptop with a functioning CDK program (Provided)
- Pen or pencil with scratch paper
Any will do and can be found at a local Wal-Mart or Kroger
- GR8 service VIN scanner (Provided)
Step 1: Locating the VIN
Above are three photos of my daily driver. These photos also represent the angle that most service writers see a car when it first pulls into our service isles.
The easiest way to locate the VIN is by opening the drivers door area. The badge will either be on the door itself, or in the door jam on the lower rocker panel. These two locations are easily seen in the second photo. The first photo is with the door closed and the second is with the door open as we look for the VIN badge.
For this vehicle, the VIN badge is located on the rocker panel inside the drivers side door jam as shown in the third photo.
Step 2: What Badge Is the Correct One?
When looking in the door jam, we will find a few badges. Reading left to right we see that the first badge is the vehicles weight and towing capacities. This is not the correct badge, however, the next one is.
This is the manufactures badge. Here is where we see the gross axel weight restriction or GAWR, the paint code and trim package code. We do not need these due to the VIN already holding this information.
Below all of this is our VIN. As we can see, my vehicles VIN is KNADM5A35D6124177. The third badge is also a VIN badge however, this is a scannable bar code. This is where we can use our GR8 scanner for quick entry.
Go ahead and put this into the appointment tab of CDK and press enter. This will pull up the appointment associated with the VIN. As shown in the third photo.
Also write down the VIN in its entirety on your scratch paper with your pen or pencil. This will help if you need the VIN again later on.
As we see in the photo, my appointment was for a key cylinder.
URL for video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJNz_EA5Szw&t=14s
Step 3: Decoding the VIN
Now that we have the VIN, what do we know? Our computers already have a program that tells us everything that we need to know about a vehicle based off the VIN. However, we always need to double check the VIN to prevent theft and ensure great customer service.
Going down the line our first digit is the letter K. For all VIN numbers the first digit is always the country of origin. Some of the most common are;
- 1 and 4 = U.S
- 2 = Canada
- 3 = Mexico
- J = Japan
- K = Korea
- E = England
- W = Germany
- Z = Italy
As we see in the photo, my VIN starts with a K meaning that my vehicle was built in Korea. It is important to note that although Honda is company based out of Japan. Most of the Hondas that we see in Bowling Green are manufactured in Ohio. More specifically Marysville, Ohio. Therefore, the VIN will start with a 1 or 4.
Step 4: Decoding the Manufacturer Digit
Moving onto the 2nd digit, we have N. This is the cars manufacturer. Some common ones that you will see are;
C = Chrysler
1 = Chevrolet
G = General Motors
7 = GM Canada
3 = Oldsmobile
V = Volkswagen and Volvo
F = Ford
N = Kia
At this point, we now know that my vehicle was built in Korea by Kia.
As we move through the digits, ensure that all information matches the appointments request order sheet.
Step 5: Decoding the Classification Digit
VIN: KNADM5A35D6124177
The last digit in the first grouping is the third digit. This will tell us the vehicles classification such as truck, passenger car, van or commercial vehicle. Our digit is A, this translates to passenger car.
Now we have the first three digits, we know that the vehicle if front of us is a Kia passenger car that was built in Korea.
Understanding the first three digits will ensure that the correct vehicle has arrived for its appointment and we can now assign a technician to the vehicle. If the information does not match, it is possible that the customer is a walk-in.
How to take care of a walk-in customer is handled in a separate instructional.
Step 6: Technician Takes the Vehicle
As the technician takes the vehicle out of the intake service area and back to the bays for work. Ensure that the vehicle's door is shut and the appointment is marked as received. By doing so the technicians time clock starts and they begin to receive pay for the time that they spend on the vehicle. This is the final step.
Congratulations, you have now successfully located the vehicles VIN, entered the VIN into CDK and matched the correct vehicle to its appointment.
