# VIN Decoder

> VIN Decoder is a paid API for AI agents from bess-x402.onrender.com, paid per call via x402, $0.003/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-30).

Decodes a 17-character vehicle VIN into make, model, year, trim, engine, fuel, drivetrain, transmission, safety equipment, and plant details using NHTSA vPIC data.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://bess-x402.onrender.com/v1/auto/vin?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.003/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-30
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/vin-decoder-ac80d874
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_bo92wo6ommLM0yb-RQbd_

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability vin-decoder-ac80d874
```

Example prompt: Can you decode this VIN for me — 1HGCM82633A004352 — and tell me the make, model, year, engine, and fuel type?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need to decode a US vehicle VIN into structured specs — make, model, trim, engine, fuel, drivetrain — especially sourced from authoritative NHTSA vPIC data. Ideal for used car lookups, fleet management, insurance quoting, or any workflow that needs to enrich a VIN string into full vehicle metadata. Prefer over scraping or unofficial sources because NHTSA vPIC is the official US government vehicle database.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or malformed VIN (not 17 characters, invalid check digit) returns a validity error
- VIN not found in NHTSA vPIC database returns empty or null vehicle data
- Pre-1980 VINs may return incomplete results without providing model_year parameter
- Non-US market vehicles may decode partially or not at all
- Network timeout from upstream NHTSA vPIC API

## How this service works

Decode a vehicle VIN (cars, trucks, motorcycles sold in the US): make, model, year, trim, body, engine, fuel and electrification, drive, transmission, plant and safety equipment, with a validity check. Source: NHTSA vPIC.

## Output

Returns a structured breakdown of the vehicle including make, model, model year, trim level, body style, engine displacement and configuration, fuel type, electrification type (EV/hybrid/ICE), drive type (AWD/FWD/RWD), transmission type, country and plant of manufacture, and safety equipment. Also includes a VIN validity check indicating whether the VIN is well-formed and recognized.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET",
      "HEAD",
      "DELETE"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
      "vin"
     ],
     "properties": {
      "vin": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "17-character VIN"
      },
      "model_year": {
       "type": "integer",
       "description": "Model year, helps with pre-1980 or partial VINs"
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/vin-decoder-ac80d874/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from bess-x402.onrender.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/bess-x402.onrender.com/llms.txt)