VIN & chassis plate decoding

The 17-character VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and the chassis plate are how you confirm exactly what a car is. Engine, build, paint and more. Essential for buying, parts and recall checks.

In short: The 17-character VIN (starts SAL) confirms exactly what a car is, engine, era, paint and build. Always cross-check it.

Where to find it

Windscreen: lower driver's side, visible from outside.
Driver's door jamb / B-post: certification label.
Engine bay: on the firewall / slam panel area.
Vehicle paperwork: registration (V5C), insurance, handbook.

How to read an L322 VIN

Every L322 VIN is 17 characters, split into fixed sections. Some you can read yourself straight away (where it was made, the year, the plant); the middle section needs a build sheet to decode fully. Here is what each position means:

Position	Section	What it tells you
1–3	WMI World Manufacturer Identifier	Who built it and where. On an L322 this is always SAL = Land Rover / JLR, United Kingdom. If a "Range Rover" VIN doesn't start with SAL, be suspicious.
4–8	VDS Vehicle Descriptor Section	Model, body, engine and trim, but coded. Land Rover doesn't publish this mapping, so no free tool can turn these five characters into "4.4 V8 Vogue" reliably. To be certain of engine/trim, use the chassis plate or a build sheet, not the VIN alone.
9	Check digit	A maths checksum of the whole VIN. It doesn't describe the car, it just proves the other 16 characters have no typo. The tool below verifies this for you.
10	Model year	A single letter/number for the year. This one you can read: see the table below. Note it's the model year, which can run ahead of the calendar year.
11	Plant	The assembly plant. L322s were built at Solihull, England.
12–17	Serial	The car's unique production number, its place in the build sequence.

Reading the model year (position 10)

The 10th character gives the model year. For the L322's lifespan:

Code	Year	Code	Year	Code	Year
2	2002	7	2007	B	2011
3	2003	8	2008	C	2012
4	2004	9	2009
5	2005	A	2010
6	2006

The letters I, O and Q are never used in a VIN (too easily confused with 1 and 0), so you'll never see them in any position.

In short: You can read the maker (SAL), year (position 10) and plant yourself. For the exact engine and trim, the VIN alone isn't enough, check the chassis plate or a build sheet.

Bonus tool: check the year & check digit

Paste a 17-character VIN and this tool reads back the parts that can be decoded reliably, the maker, model year, plant and serial, and verifies the check digit to catch typos. It does not guess the engine or trim from the middle characters, because (as above) that can't be done reliably from the VIN alone.

⚙ L322 VIN CHECKER · YEAR & CHECK-DIGIT

▸ Reads the maker, year, plant & serial, and verifies the check digit

Enter a 17-character VIN:

Try a 2006 L322 Try a 2008 L322 Try a 2010 L322 Clear

DISCLAIMER This decoder explains the standard VIN structure and the parts that are consistent on Land Rover cars (WMI, model year, plant, serial). The middle "descriptor" characters (model, body, engine) vary by market and aren't fully standardised, so those are shown as indicative. For a definitive build sheet, use an official Land Rover VIN lookup. It does not check history, theft or recalls.

VIN structure (17 characters)

Land Rover VINs begin with SAL, the World Manufacturer Identifier for Jaguar Land Rover Limited, UK. The 17 characters break down (broadly) as:

Section	Meaning
WMI (1-3)	SAL = JLR, United Kingdom
VDS (4-9)	Model, body, engine and other descriptor codes
Check (9)	Check digit (markets that use it)
Model year (10)	Letter/number for the model year
Plant (11)	Assembly plant code (Solihull)
Serial (12-17)	Production sequence number

NOTE Exact VDS coding varies; use a Land Rover VIN decoder or the build sheet to confirm engine, trim and factory options for a specific car. The build sheet shows original equipment, including the air suspension system.

Chassis / paint plate

The VIN plate also carries (or sits near) other key codes:

Paint code, e.g. "798" (Zermatt Silver), later "LRC" codes. See colours.
Engine code. Confirms which of the three engine eras the car belongs to.
Weights. Gross vehicle and axle weights for towing/payload limits.

Notes

TIP Always cross-check the VIN on the car against the V5C/registration and the windscreen and door-jamb plates, mismatches are a red flag. Confirm the engine/era via VIN before buying parts, as fitment differs sharply between BMW, Jaguar and late cars.

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