VIN from Reg number needed

[PenelopePitstop]

HedgePiggy, can you make it paid app?

BTW, Blueprint website doesn't work any more, it was replaced with different one. It's a real shame, as it was also able to pull reg from VIN.

 

[HedgePiggy]

Ha no I am thick skinned, no harm done. I toyed with posting the detail on your car but didn't want to earn a cheeky ban on my first day!

No what I mean is this stuff is out there. Ok so that data came from the Ukraine but the point is, once you have the VIN what I can pull is pretty limitless. I can even see what the car sells for at auction, which is pretty crazy. My plan is not to rule the world, but I think there may be a need for people to find out the details on their cars, or more specifically a car they are interested in to buy. I remember when I bought my BMW (apologies) what you saw on Auto Trader was dire. So this was a personal response to a pain point.

I'm happy to do the work, but I need a sense of how interested people are.

Sorry I wasn't dissing your efforts. It just you hadn't mentioned the brand this forum represents

Seems to work fine although the Russian decode site can be bettered.

 

[HedgePiggy]

Which is exactly why I did this. Since the changes on this GDPR rule the VIN has been marked as personal data. So I can't see that coming online again. I literally have done this personally in a response to the Blueprint site no longer working.

HedgePiggy, can you make it paid app?

BTW, Blueprint website doesn't work any more, it was replaced with different one. It's a real shame, as it was also able to pull reg from VIN.

 

[HedgePiggy]

Sorry I realise I didn't answer your question my apologies.

The short answer is yes, I can write it into anything. I admit im not strong on Opera (which I could pull the API into an apple or android app) but its something I can do. Maybe thats an idea. Write an app, you then just buy like 10 searches or something. I don't particularly want to get into a vehicle check service, there are enough out there, even if I am surprised by how expensive they are.

HedgePiggy, can you make it paid app?

BTW, Blueprint website doesn't work any more, it was replaced with different one. It's a real shame, as it was also able to pull reg from VIN.

 

[AMGeed]

Good luck going forward. I'm sure there will be a lot of interest once its known what can and can't be discovered.
A paid app sounds a good idea too.

 

[PenelopePitstop]

I think app could be quite useful and hopefully people would buy it. Posting on Pistonheads could bring you some more interested people as it's quite popular subject, coming up from time to time.

 

[HedgePiggy]

I've posted there too, lets see what comes back. I'll stick around a bit.

I think app could be quite useful and hopefully people would buy it. Posting on Pistonheads could bring you some more interested people as it's quite popular subject, coming up from time to time.

 

[AMGeed]

Anybody contemplating buying a car with only the Reg # at hand will find it a very useful tool to find out exactly what they are going to look at.
You could be on to a winner

 

[HedgePiggy]

Ironically that's exactly why I have done it, I wanted to buy myself a car and was frustrated that there isn't a place you can go to get DETAIL on the car you are looking at. I specifically wanted the HUD. None of the dealer cars showed this and most private sellers didn't get the acronym, so I could do this and actually tell the seller what's on their car!

Something as simple as rim size, or media pack (which makes a big difference if you have an iPhone or similar) just wasn't available. Then by the time you hear back from the advert, you've kinda moved on.

So yeah, thats exactly what I had in mind. I don't need to make a fortune, I just don't want to spend maybe 100 hours on programming and then pay 30p every time someone uses the info. That would be crazy.

Anybody contemplating buying a car with only the Reg # at hand will find it a very useful tool to find out exactly what they are going to look at.
You could be on to a winner

 

[AMGeed]

^ Going on most of the trade adverts in Autotrader for instance, many dealers don't have a clue what is fitted anyway. Quoting Radio cassettes and 13" alloys on an AMG just turns you away from the dealer first time of looking.

All you need to do to completely crack it is to override the trade plates used in the photos and get the real Reg#

 

[HedgePiggy]

You and I could be brothers from another mother. This is it exactly.
When you post an ad, it populates the 'generic' fit out associated with that plate. I mean, yes, thank you for telling me it has seatbelt tensioners and a reverse light. But that's not really giving me anything!

I have been really quite amazed (I think startled is the word) at how much I can find if I have the plate number, which then by extension gives me the VIN. So far I just looked at my search logs and the only 'issue' I have had is if you do a search using a personalised plate, it takes about 30 days to be updated in the private plate database, this is out of my control. All you need to do is a search under the original plate number. Otherwise its pretty bulletproof!

^ Going on most of the trade adverts in Autotrader for instance, many dealers don't have a clue what is fitted anyway. Quoting Radio cassettes and 13" alloys on an AMG just turns you away from the dealer first time of looking.

All you need to do to completely crack it is to override the trade plates used in the photos and get the real Reg#

 

[Dippo]

If the VIN is now considered private data, and you are offering to access it and sell it to other people, doesn't that mean that you are contravening the new data regulations?

 

[PenelopePitstop]

I was thinking something else? Should we now cover our VIN numbers visible under windscreen? I think GDPR killed a lot of useful things but won't stop spam and other inappropriate use of our data by companies who won't comply.

 

[HedgePiggy]

Good question and the short answer is no.
I won't actually be giving you the VIN, I will be giving you the expanded data on the car. Though, (and I need to be clear I am no expert) it does seem if I capture your details as part of the search and you agree to data share terms, I am able to give you the VIN. Otherwise all the vehicle data companies just went under.

I want to keep it simple and 'fun' if I need to get a lawyer I'll just go to the office and talk to lawyers there.

If the VIN is now considered private data, and you are offering to access it and sell it to other people, doesn't that mean that you are contravening the new data regulations?

 

[HedgePiggy]

Interestingly, I can't see any of your personal data from the DVLA! I need to be a formal/government agency (like the police) to access this. So it's purely the intimate data on the car, not the people involved. I have no desire to find out who the owner is.

I was thinking something else? Should we now cover our VIN numbers visible under windscreen? I think GDPR killed a lot of useful things but won't stop spam and other inappropriate use of our data by companies who won't comply.

 

[Codger49]

Maybe DVLA have classified the VIN as 'commercial' data rather than 'personal' data?

Their website states they make the VIN lookup from registration available to 'certain companies' which implies a commercial relationship.

And its difficult to see how a car's id describes a person. Won't be the only outfit using GDPR as a smokescreen methinks.

 

[Dippo]

Good question and the short answer is no.
I won't actually be giving you the VIN, I will be giving you the expanded data on the car. Though, (and I need to be clear I am no expert) it does seem if I capture your details as part of the search and you agree to data share terms, I am able to give you the VIN. Otherwise all the vehicle data companies just went under.

I want to keep it simple and 'fun' if I need to get a lawyer I'll just go to the office and talk to lawyers there.

I'm not a lawyer, and certainly don't want to be, but I don't think it's a case of customers agreeing to the data share terms. In most cases, the vehicle queried won't be their own.

 

[HedgePiggy]

I need to be clear I am no expert, but equally I have been given access (I did use my company details on the application) and it was approved. So it certainly is a commercial setup and remember I am being charged for each search. So I have had to share my bona fides. Like I say, I am happy to try to create a landing page to help others do what I needed to do, quite legally, remember I have achieved this AFTER the new rules are in play, so if I'm managing it I assume I'm not accessing anything anyone else can't if they do a little work?

So getting the data is 'easy', I have had to write software to interpret/convert it into a format that reads easily. This is what I will share, but imagine I put up a website, people pop in the reg number of the car in question and I get a bill. Imagine this happens 5,000 times. No way I'm paying for that, I'm a nice chap but not that much of a philanthropist...

Maybe DVLA have classified the VIN as 'commercial' data rather than 'personal' data?

Their website states they make the VIN lookup from registration available to 'certain companies' which implies a commercial relationship.

And its difficult to see how a car's id describes a person. Won't be the only outfit using GDPR as a smokescreen methinks.

 

[HedgePiggy]

Correct, but again at the risk of repeating myself, I can get all this data with just a reg. Now.

I am proposing sharing the data on the vehicle, without the VIN if that a requirement. I'm happy to be guided. Remember, the VIN tell me nothing about the car, I want the info the VIN can access. And thats what I am able to share, its in the public domain, today.

Remember the spirit in which I am approaching this. Its a community thing and since it was REALLY useful for me, I must assume it will be useful for others. Thats all.

I'm not a lawyer, and certainly don't want to be, but I don't think it's a case of customers agreeing to the data share terms. In most cases, the vehicle queried won't be their own.

 

[AMGeed]

imagine I put up a website, people pop in the reg number of the car in question and I get a bill. Imagine this happens 5,000 times. No way I'm paying for that,

Sounds like you need to create a webpage where entering a Reg # takes you to a "pay up and you'll get the details" page before getting the info.
Once you are paid, you getting a bill will already be covered.