I was aware of that. What I'm trying to figure is where my car was really built.
From the VIN, I would expect the sticker to indicate final assembly in Germany. The sticker says Great Britain. The sticker is at odds with the VIN, hence the reason for my question. I am wondering if my car came from the Mini factory in the U.K. or if it was built at the BMW factory in Germany.
Interesting question. Along the same lines since the Countryman is build under contract by Magna-Styer in Austria you would expect a VIN to start with VA to VE since that is the code for Austria. Yet when I looked at a bunch of Countryman's that are listed for sale on line thy start with a W too. So do Roadsters and Coupes.
I've dropped and email to a contact to see if we can get clarification on this.
I don't remember all of the codes but 1,2, 3 and 4 are North American built. Say you have a Ford built in Canada, it will start with the number for Canada. Mexican built cars definitely start with 3. I know the Ford thing is right because my ex wife wanted to buy "American" but the car she bought was assembled in Canada. She didn't know about the VIN trick. The window sticker did say Windsor Ontario Canada. The sticker and the VIN agreed as well. She didn't notice Canada on the sticker.
If you have a Japanese car built in Japan, it will start with a J, but if that same model is assembled in the USA, it will start with a 1 2 or 4. I think 1 and 4 are US, and 2 is Canada, but I can't be sure on that.
I just looked at some Fiat 500s on line as the same dealer group that has BMW and Mini in town also has Fiat. That automotive group always puts the VIN online. Fiat 500s are assembled in Mexico and the VIN still starts with a 3, so nothing has changed there since I left the car business.
