Alfa Romeo VIN decoder

What is an Alfa Romeo VIN?

VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is a 17-character combination that makes every vehicle unique. It’s necessary to register a vehicle, pass an MOT, or check its history.

Alfa Romeo has been using a few kinds of identification numbers throughout history, but up until 1981, they were shorter serial or chassis numbers. In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standardized the current 17-character VIN format, forcing most car manufacturers, including Alfa Romeo, to use it. Compared to older chassis and serial numbers, VIN numbers contain way more information.

Alfa Romeo was established in Milan in 1910 as an Italian luxury car manufacturer. Originally named A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), it gained the "Romeo" after director Nicola Romeo joined in 1915.

The company quickly developed a reputation for performance cars, participating in prestigious races and winning them. Alfa Romeo always focused on mass-producing sporty vehicles, eventually presenting iconic models like the Giulietta, Alfetta, and Spider. Despite financial struggles and ownership changes, including Fiat's acquisition in 1986, Alfa Romeo remains a symbol of Italian automotive passion and design.

Where to search for the VIN?

A vehicle’s VIN number is located in multiple places on a car and can depend on the brand. However, there are specific common locations where the VIN is usually found in most vehicles.

Here’s where you can find it in Alfa Romeo cars:

• On the dashboard near the windshield
• In the engine bay
• On the driver’s side B pillar
• In the driver’s side footwell
• In the boot, under the carpet

Remember that a VIN plays an important role in a car’s ownership. It should be printed on a tamper-proof sticker or stamped into metal. Make sure the numbers in each location match, and there are no signs of tampering.

What is Alfa Romeo VIN decoder?

One of the most important things about a VIN number is that it can provide essential information about the car’s past. Once you have the VIN number of your vehicle or a car you want to buy, you can use a VIN decoder to perform a VIN lookup and find out more about its historical facts, including mileage rollbacks, damage records, and changes of ownership.

Our Alfa Romeo VIN decoder is very easy to use – just enter a car’s VIN to get the available information about the car.

How accurate is the information provided by the Alfa Romeo VIN decoder?

carVertical’s Alfa Romeo VIN decoder collects information from various reliable sources, including governmental registries, vehicle inspection centers, law enforcement databases, dealerships, and insurance companies. Information provided in vehicle history reports is always up-to-date and legitimate, therefore, it’s a great way to evaluate a car when buying it or provide more information when selling.

Sometimes, databases don’t have much information about particular vehicles, generating scarce history reports as a result. In this case, you’ll receive your spent credits back automatically.

How to decode a VIN number - Alfa Romeo VIN breakdown

VIN numbers are divided into four main sections: World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS), Security Check Digit, and Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS).

While the Check Digit section consists of a single number and is used for security reasons, characters in other sections hold particular vehicle-related information, such as model, body style, year of manufacture, etc. Different car makers typically choose different meanings for each character.

Theoretically, you can decode an entire VIN manually if you know the meaning of each character, but it’s very inconvenient compared to the Alfa Romeo VIN decoder. However, knowing what a few characters mean can help you reveal essential information about the car at a glance.

World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI)

The first 3 characters of a VIN number create a WMI section. The first character reveals the country of origin, while 2nd and 3rd characters represent the manufacturer.

Since Alfa Romeo cars are manufactured in Italy, the first character is always “Z”. The 2nd and 3rd ones are “AR,” which means “Alfa Romeo”. As a result, all Alfa Romeo 17-character VIN numbers start with “ZAR”.

Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)

The second section (VDS) consists of 5 characters and provides information about the car’s model, engine, body style, and restraint systems. For instance, each engine has its own representing character in a VIN number, helping you understand if the engine was replaced at some point.

Here are a few characters from a vehicle descriptor section worth checking out:

Security Check Digit

The 9th character in a VIN is a Security Check Digit, which helps verify that the VIN is valid. This digit varies in different VINs because it’s a result of the special U.S. Department of Transportation formula that uses all of the remaining VIN characters.

The Check Digit won’t be the same if one or more characters of the VIN are changed.

Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS)

The last section has 8 characters, but only 1 of them can be useful when decoding Alfa Romeo VIN manually.

The 10th character of VIN can help you reveal the model year at a glance. Here’s what model years each character represents:

The remaining characters at the end represent the serial number.

Is an Alfa Romeo VIN decoder available for a free VIN check?

Alfa Romeo VIN decoder is free if you want to learn about a car’s model, specs, and other basic information. However, if you want to reveal its history, you’ll have to buy a full history report.

They aren’t free because raw data is taken from various sources, processed, and provided in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

List of Alfa Romeo models

Current Alfa Romeo models include:

• Alfa Romeo Stelvio/Stelvio Quadrifoglio
• Alfa Romeo Giulia/Giulia Quadrifoglio
• Alfa Romeo Tonale

Some of the most popular discontinued models include:

• Alfa Romeo Giulietta
• Alfa Romeo 4C
• Alfa Romeo MiTo
• Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
• Alfa Romeo Brera
• Alfa Romeo 159
• Alfa Romeo GT
• Alfa Romeo 147
• Alfa Romeo 166
• Alfa Romeo 156
• Alfa Romeo GTV
• Alfa Romeo 146
• Alfa Romeo 145

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