VIN SCANNING AND DECODING

VIN Scanner for Car Dealerships

Scan a vehicle's VIN from a barcode, printed text, a document or a handwritten note, and HillzDealer decodes it and fills in the available vehicle information. Your team spends less time typing VINs and specifications, and fewer errors reach your inventory.

Available on desktop and in the HillzDealer mobile app for car dealerships in Canada and the United States.

Request a Personalized DemoBook a 15-minute call
See how VINs are captured
HillzDealer mobile VIN scanner showing scan options for a VIN barcode, VIN text and a photo from the camera or gallery

Capture a VIN the way it appears

Typing a 17-character VIN by hand is slow, and a single wrong character means the wrong vehicle details. The HillzDealer VIN scanner captures VINs in several ways so staff can use whatever is in front of them.

  • VIN barcode scanning
  • Printed VIN text (OCR)
  • Handwritten VIN recognition
  • Desktop and mobile scanning

Scan from the vehicle or its documents

Scan the VIN plate through the windshield, the sticker on the door jamb, a vehicle registration, a title or other vehicle documents. Mobile scanning is useful on the lot, during a trade-in appraisal or at an auction, while desktop scanning suits paperwork at the office.

  • Windshield VIN plate
  • Door-jamb sticker
  • Vehicle registration
  • Title and other documents

Decode available vehicle information automatically

Once the VIN is captured, HillzDealer decodes it through a third-party vehicle data provider and fills in the available decoded vehicle information, so staff are not looking up specifications one field at a time.

The data available varies by VIN and vehicle. Your team reviews the result and adds anything the decoder does not supply before the vehicle is published.

  • Year, make and model
  • Trim and body
  • Engine and transmission
  • Drivetrain and fuel type
  • Options and features
  • Other available specifications

From scan to a complete inventory record

The scanned VIN starts the vehicle record in your car dealership inventory software. From there the team adds acquisition costs, pricing, photos and status, tracks vehicle reconditioning and publishes the vehicle to your dealer website and Facebook Marketplace.

Accurate VINs and specifications carry through to deals and the Bill of Sale, accounting and reporting, so a mistake is not repeated in every document that follows.

HillzDealer centralized vehicle inventory management system

VIN scanning in the mobile app

The HillzDealer mobile app puts the VIN scanner in the hands of buyers, lot staff and salespeople. Capture a trade-in during an appraisal, add an auction purchase before it arrives, or check a unit on the lot without returning to a desk.

See the VIN scanner on your own vehicles

Bring a few VINs to a personalized demonstration and watch HillzDealer scan, decode and build the inventory record.

Built in Canada. Supporting dealerships across North America.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a VIN scanner for car dealerships?

A dealership VIN scanner reads a vehicle's 17-character Vehicle Identification Number with a camera or scanner instead of manual typing, then decodes it to fill in vehicle details. In HillzDealer, the scanned VIN and the available decoded vehicle information go straight into the vehicle record.

What can the HillzDealer VIN scanner read?

It reads VIN barcodes, printed VIN text through optical character recognition, and handwritten VINs. You can scan from the windshield VIN plate, the door-jamb sticker, a registration, a title or other vehicle documents.

Which vehicle details does it fill in?

HillzDealer fills in the available decoded vehicle information, which can include year, make, model, trim, engine, body, transmission, drivetrain, fuel type, options, features and other specifications. The fields available depend on the VIN and the data returned for that vehicle.

Where does the decoded vehicle data come from?

VINs are decoded through a third-party vehicle data provider connected to HillzDealer.

Does the VIN scanner work on desktop and mobile?

Yes. VIN scanning is available on desktop and in the HillzDealer mobile app, so staff can capture VINs at a desk, on the lot or at an auction.

Can it read a handwritten VIN?

Yes. HillzDealer supports handwritten VIN recognition in addition to barcodes and printed VIN text. Staff should still confirm the result against the vehicle before saving.

What happens after a VIN is scanned?

The VIN and available decoded information populate the vehicle record in HillzDealer inventory, where your team adds pricing, photos, costs and status before the vehicle moves to your website, marketplaces and deals.