VINs: Why We Need Them?

June 11, 2010 by Frank Peditto

We’re often asked a lot of questions regarding the information we require when transporting a vehicle for a customer. One of those questions is why we need the vehicle identification number or VIN.

While there are hundreds of car models on the market today, it’s not uncommon for there to be more than one of the same kind in a mall parking lot, on your street or even at a transportation terminal. Even if they’re not exactly the same, say for example one is a different model than the other it’s likely that, for a passerby, they may be mistaken for one another.

Recently we had 2 vehicles at the same local terminal. While both were black BMWs, one was a three series and the other a slightly larger body five series. The vehicles were confirmed for pick-up and when the first driver arrived, he picked up the five series and set off for delivery in Ohio. The only issue being that he was supposed to pick up the three series, but didn’t have the VIN number for confirmation, so he went on the fact that it was 1) at the local terminal and 2) a black BMW. When the transferee in Ohio met the driver to receive the vehicle, he thanked them for the ‘upgrade’, noting that his BMW was the smaller three series and not the five series they were delivering.

At that point the transferee and driver notified us as to the mistake and we immediately contacted the transporter, who, within two days, had the BMWs each delivered to their rightful owners. While the issue was resolved quickly and the transferees were both 100 percent satisfied, if we had provided the VINs in advance for each vehicle, the entire incident could have been prevented.