On the same dealer lot there are VINs of 127,xxx and 140,xxx.
So your order / purchase date had little to do with how low of a VIN you got. Or maybe train load #1 broke down and train #2 passed it up en route. because they were at the back of the stack. It's like as if Detroit made a stock pile of cars, parked the oldest (earliest) cars into a corner, and are only now delivering those. I've noticed more RECENT dealer stock has OLDER (lower) VIN numbers.Įspecially right around the end of December / start of January. Note I said produced, not registered and on the road.Īssuming dealer stock numbers go up in sequence. Wouldn't there be more Sonics with a few Bolts sprinkled in?ĭoes it make sense to have had 14,000 Bolts produced by now? Or is that way too high by double or something? But even 20 in a row doesn't prove anything if every 21st is a Sonic. I've seen several consecutive VINs going to Bolts. Hard to know without knowing someone who works there.
However, Bolt's seem to be in the 128xxx -136xxx range right now, but I've seen some Sonics listed with a 136xxx serial number, but most seem to be in the lower 101xxx or 145xxx range, so it's hard to make rhyme or reason of things. In theory, a Sonic could have a sequential number of 129000, and a Bolt that followed it would be 129001.
Something to keep in mind is that the sequential serial number is used for all cars produced at that plant, which includes the Sonic. I saw Bolt's listed on my Dealer's website that started with 128xxx. Mine which was produced a week later, has a VIN that is 1302xx. If anyone with technical connections with Chevrolet can find out what was the FIRST Bolt VIN, (of normal production would be most helpful) we can all see where we sit in the line.ĮDIT: This is not so helpful since now I think Sonics built on the same assembly line use some of the same sequence of numbers.ĭevbolt wrote:A co-worker's Bolt which was produced the week of November 14th has a VIN that is 1295xx. I will get my Bolt (now in Transit) Mid-February. I ordered on the first day orders were open. this all started because I wanted to know how "early" of an adopter I was. Interpolation of 2400-2500 cars per month, which sounds reasonable to make 25,000 to 35,000 cars this first year which is consistent with early estimates. It appears they started AROUND 125000 for public production vehicles, and I have seen a demo car from September with a VIN of 118994.ģ) Based on available inventory, so far, in round numbers ABOUT 600 VINs are showing up on dealer online ads per week. However, it appears Chevy did not start with 000001. S = Restraint Type (Presumably Seat belt)Ĩ = check sum (add all the alpha numeric characters and divide by 11 - this number is the remainder X = 10)Ģ) VINs are being issued in order of production date.
So after poking around with about 40 or 50 cars in dealer stock right now I have determined three things.Ģ) that VINs are issued in sequence of build date (with a couple exceptions)ģ) about 600 VINs are being issued per weekġ) How to decode the VIN (always 17 characters long)