Most people buy a used car at some point in their lives, 
 but how many do a little investigation before buying?  You should know what 
 you're buying before laying down the cash -- or worse yet, financing.  Many 
 dealers will now show you a CarFax data sheet.  They punch in the Vehicle 
 Identification Number (or VIN) and the computer spits out all it knows about 
 that particular car.  A VIN is unique to each car and can tell a lot about 
 the car, including make, model, body style, manufacturing plant, etc.  Try 
 this out.  Go to your car and carefully write down your VIN, then enter it 
 in one of the boxes below.  You may be surprised at what you can learn. 
 AnalogX Vin Decoder 
 
 
 
 
 VIN:  
 
 
 
 
 CarFax Vin Decoder 
 
 
 
 
 
 VIN:  
 
 
 
 
 AutoCheck Vin Decoder 
 
 
 
 
 VIN:  
 
 
 
 
 Model years 1981 and later have 17-digit vehicle 
 identification numbers (VIN).  Anyone can decode them with a few basics. 
 
   
     
     Dig...