VIN Etching Car Insurance Discounts [2023]
VIN etching insurance discounts reduce car insurance rates for vehicles with their VIN etched into the windows. A VIN etching insurance discount may reduce car insurance rates by 10%.
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Joel Ohman
Founder & CFP®
Joel Ohman is the CEO of a private equity backed digital media company. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, author, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur who loves creating new things, whether books or businesses. He has also previously served as the founder and resident CFP® of a national insurance agency, Real Time Health Quotes. He has an MBA from the University of South Florida. Jo...
Founder & CFP®
UPDATED: Oct 20, 2022
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Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident car insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one car insurance company and cannot guarantee quotes from any single company.
Our partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from top car companies please enter your ZIP code above to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.
UPDATED: Oct 20, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident car insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one car insurance company and cannot guarantee quotes from any single company.
Our partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from top car companies please enter your ZIP code above to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- VIN etching will help lower your insurance premiums
- VIN etching makes stolen vehicle much harder for thieves to sell
- You can request at the dealership that your new car has VIN etching done
- You can have VIN etching added to a vehicle you already own, although it may not be cost effective
What is a VIN and what does it do?
Car insurance companies will reward you for having both active and passive anti-theft devices on your car. A passive anti-theft measure is doing something to your vehicle that makes it more difficult, if not impossible, for a thief to sell your car after they steal it.
In the case of VIN etching, the Vehicle Identification Number is etched into several windows of your car so that if the VIN plate is removed there is still an identifying VIN on the windows.
VIN etching doesn’t have to stop there, either. Some people go so far as to have VIN etchings done on their engine, gas tank and more so that a thief would literally have to replace all of the parts in order to sell the car somewhere else.Because this isn’t cost effective, the thief either is unable to sell the vehicle or tries to sell it anyway and is caught!In the case of VIN etching in the window, all or some of your windows are etched with the VIN of your vehicle below the seal line. In order for a thief to see it, he or she would have to remove each of your windows which most thieves aren’t willing to do.Yet, your willingness to take this step can help keep your vehicle from being stolen because a car dealership has the equipment on hand to remove and replace a window to determine whether or not it has been stolen before they make a purchase.This makes it difficult for the thief to do business.There are several ways to get VIN etching done on your vehicle, including:
- Dealer – In many cases, when you purchase a new vehicle, the dealer will offer a certain number of VIN etchings for free as part of the purchase. Some dealers will charge you a small fee and some dealers will charge a huge fee. It just depends on where you buy the car.
- Factory – If you don’t buy a car off of the lot because you are having one made custom, you can request the etching be done at the factory and skip the middleman, so to speak.
- Independent – If you want to get VIN etching on a vehicle you already own, you can hire someone to do it.
You should talk to several insurance companies to ensure that you get the most savings from whatever anti-theft measures you take, both passive and active.If an insurance company doesn’t offer a discount for passive measures, consider finding another company to work with.
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Can I get VIN etchings done on my older vehicle?
image sourceYou can get VIN etchings done at any time. However, you need to understand that if you do this on your own, you are going to have to pay to have this done and it probably won’t be cheap.Removing the windows from your car to do a window VIN etching will be costly, as will finding a specialist to do VIN etchings on your car parts. In some cases, the person may need to remove some engine parts, which will mean that there will be steep labor costs involved.If you already own your vehicle, consider a tracking device, which is getting more and more affordable as an anti-theft option. You should compare the cost of VIN etching on your older vehicle to other anti-theft measures to see what will fit best in your budget.If you have an accident that requires you to get a new window, that is the best time to get an etching done. Some window companies will do it for only a couple of extra dollars, which your insurance company may pay for anyway.Get your online care insurance quotes by entering your ZIP code right now!
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Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap car insurance rates.
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Joel Ohman
Founder & CFP®
Joel Ohman is the CEO of a private equity backed digital media company. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, author, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur who loves creating new things, whether books or businesses. He has also previously served as the founder and resident CFP® of a national insurance agency, Real Time Health Quotes. He has an MBA from the University of South Florida. Jo...
Founder & CFP®
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.