Understanding VIN Number on 1995 Mercury Cougar

by Deborah
(Louisville, Ky USA)

I am trying to understand the numbers and letters of my VIN number for my 1995 Mercury Cougar; however, I keep getting so far and then not as far as I want to on understanding and being able to identify information on the vin#.

I used to work for an auto auction and had started learning this, then was transferred to another dept of the company.




Answer: Hi Deborah, I'm not an expert on all types of VIN's and what each specific number and letter means for each different make and model of vehicle, but would recommend you take a look at my VIN Number Decoder page if you haven't done so already.

What is it that you are trying to figure from the VIN? If it is specific options on the vehicle, that is not something the VIN will not always tell you accurately.

Here's a quick overview of a Mercury VIN (not sure if this will hold true for a 15 year old vehicle):

• Digits 1-2 will be the country of origin code and manufacturer code.
  
  
• The 3rd digit represents the vehicle type, i.e. car, truck, SUV
  
  
• Digits 4-8 will tell you more about the vehicle...sedan, coupe, actual model (Cougar), weight/horsepower, number of cylinders, gas/diesel, etc.
  
  
• The 9th digit is the check digit. It's a bogus number, but tells computers when there is an error in VIN input.
  
  
• 10th digit represents the year.
  
  
• 11th digit is the plant code. What plant the vehicle was produced in.
  
  
• Digits 12-17 are the production numbers. These digits make the vehicle unique amongst all others like it. In other words, it gives each 1995 Cougar a unique ID.
  

Definitely take a look at my VIN decoder page, as that may help you quite a bit. If you still have questions after that, you may have to contact Mercury directly.

Hope this helps,
Justin