Dealer glossary
VIN decode
Reading a vehicle identification number to populate the year, make, model, trim and factory equipment automatically.
Definition
Also called VIN decoding
A VIN encodes what the vehicle is. Decoding it turns seventeen characters into year, make, model, body style, engine, and often the factory options, without anyone typing them.
The value is accuracy as much as speed. Trim level in particular is easy to get wrong by hand, and getting it wrong affects both the price the car should carry and how it shows up in a shopper search.
Decoding at the point the unit is entered means the record starts correct, which matters because everything downstream - the listing, the feeds, the appraisal, the paperwork - reads from it.
Related terms.
Appraisal →
Determining what a dealership should pay for a vehicle, whether taken in trade or bought at auction.
Book value →
A published estimate of what a vehicle is worth, from a valuation guide, used as a reference in appraisal and lending.
Inventory feed →
An automated export of a dealership live inventory to marketplaces and listing sites.
See how this works in one system.
DealersCloud runs inventory, the CRM, desking, the books and your dealer website on the same records - so the things in this glossary stop living in separate places.
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