VIN Trim Level Keeps Changing - Have You Noticed This?

[klarson]

Hey, I wanted to see if anyone else is noticing this out there. I started monitoring my local dealers ads (long story) and I noticed they could never get the trim level right. The ad would say PRO for instance, but when I looked up the VIN, it said Lariat. Further, the dealer is inconsistent within the ad. I noticed the same problem with other dealers while some of the larger dealers weren't advertising at all. The I noticed it happening with CARFAX. Check this out:

when I asked CARFAX why this was happening, this is what they told me:

Makes you wonder why you'd pay for one of their reports, doesn't it.

Anyway, this isn't a one-off incident. This has been happening A LOT. Monitor your dealer's listings and when they first appear check the VIN. Then in a couple of days go back and check that same VIN again and see if the TRIM doesn't change. Our state has a good "Truth in Advertising" law and they can't misrepresent what what they are advertising. I notified the dealers and one egregious one still hasn't corrected the listings after two months so I'm taking them to court. See if it's happening in your area and what your state advertising laws are. I'd really like to know if FORD is causing this issue or something else. I don't seem to be getting a straight answer from anyone.

 

[klarson]

So here's a fresh one from today. Check with CARFAX in a couple of days and see if it doesn't change to a Platinum:

And here's another one from this week:

 

[carys98]

Trim level is not coded in the VIN.

https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/mid/home/displayfile/80532849-df78-41d0-9c6b-ca62ca456c93

 

[Amps]

I'm trying to figure out what running a VIN on CarFax has to do with new car advertising, especially since trim is not encoded into the VIN? CarFax reports are based on reported events associated with the VIN. All Lightnings are either xxxxW1EV or xxxxW1EL. The VIN indicates F-150 SuperCrew, Standard Range or Extended Range battery. If you can find a W1EL Platinum, there's a mistake somewhere. I think the Monroney is the legal truth-in-advertising benchmark for new vehicles.

I notified the dealers and one egregious one still hasn't corrected the listings after two months so I'm taking them to court.

Have you looked at the Monroney label affixed to the vehicle?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Carfax needs better automation to "READ" the window sticker and extract the correct trim designations

 

[djwildstar]

The VIN doesn't encode the vehicle trim level, so any VIN-based report is either guessing the trim level, or defaults to some random trim level (Pro?) until someone specifically tells it otherwise.

Here's what's coded in a VIN by position:

Position	Meaning
1	Country of Origin (1 = USA)
2-3	Manufacturer (FT = Ford Truck)
4	Brake, GVWR, & Restraints (V = Hydraulic, 8001-8500lb, manual belts w/front+1st&2nd side SRS, 6 = same except 8501-9000lb )
5-7	Line, Series & Body Style (W1E = F-150 4x4 SuperCrew)
8	Engine Type (L = SR Electric, V = ER Electric)
9	Check digit
10	Model Year (P = 2023)
11	Plant (W = Rouge Electric in Dearborn MI)
12-17	Serial Number (G00001-G9999)

As you can see, you can't reliably infer trim level from the VIN, except that the Platinum trim will have 6 in the 4th position (because it is heavier than the other trims). If someone has written a trim-level-guesser, I'd bet that it assumes that 1FT6W1EV...=Platinum, 1FTVW1EV...=Lariat (which will be right fairly often, since most non-Platinum ER builds are Lariats), and 1FTVW1EL...=Pro (which will be wrong pretty often, because while a Pro at retail is always SR, there are a lot of SR XLT builds, too).

 

[Ventorum94]

If even trim level is not ID’d in VIN, then how does IRS confirm EV Tax Credit qualification, including MSRP? Is there a database, looking up MSRP by VIN? I doubt it- and I further doubt that IRS has ability to tell the difference between a $79,000 and an $81,000 Lightning, except as part of a detailed audit.

 

[TaxmanHog]

If even trim level is not ID’d in VIN, then how does IRS confirm EV Tax Credit qualification, including MSRP? Is there a database, looking up MSRP by VIN? I doubt it- and I further doubt that IRS has ability to tell the difference between a $79,000 and an $81,000 Lightning, except as part of a detailed audit.

FORD (all EV manufacturers) send a detailed report in January by VIN and value, if there is a mis-match during automated "Underreporter" analysis the individual will get a CP-2000 or CP-2501 about 1-2 years after the return is filed.

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