Published: March 31, 2023

Updated: October 4, 2024

Just as high reliability on the road is crucial for any car, smooth parts search in an online automotive store is essential for building customer trust and driving sales growth. 

One of the most accurate and trusted methods for verifying car parts is using the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The VIN lookup search feature is tailored specifically for the automotive aftermarket sector and uses the identifiers common to the customers in your industry. This unique 17-digit code gives detailed information about your customers’ cars, enabling them to easily find compatible parts without hassle. 

When it comes to enabling parts search by VIN, automotive businesses have two choices: either opt for installing a third-party VIN lookup tool or take advantage of having it prebuilt in the core functionality of their eCommerce platform. And the second option seems to be far more beneficial. 

Let’s find out how part lookup by VIN works, what benefits it promises, and why having it as a built-in feature is more cost-efficient than using outside services by taking the X-Cart VIN lookup tool as an example.

VIN Lookup Tool by X-Cart

An advanced X-Cart auto parts search by VIN accurately captures all the features and specs of a specific vehicle to help customers identify the auto parts for a particular car with maximum accuracy. Released in March 2023, the X-Cart filter by the vehicle’s number is designed to ensure high-performance auto parts search that lets your customers find the item they need in record time. 

How Does Part Lookup by VIN Work?

Customer side

After a shopper types the vehicle identification number into the search bar and clicks “Find the Vehicle” X-Cart’s Vehicle VIN Lookup refines the search results to only the parts that fit their car. Customers can also add the vehicle to their “Garage” and create a customized car profile that can be used to filter specific auto parts in the future.

Technical side

The specified VIN requests information about the car through the Decode VIN service integrated into complex auto parts catalogs. According to the data received from the service, the car’s characteristics are determined (Year, Make, Model, Submodel, or Trim) to identify the parts that fit the query and immediately return accurate search results to the customer.

Year/Make/Model + Vehicle VIN Lookup

Providing high-quality product data is critical for maintaining high profits. Conversely, inaccurate auto parts orders may result in lost sales, costly returns, and a significant drop in customer loyalty. 

The most effective method to ensure shoppers purchase the correct parts is enabling them to filter your catalog by using a unique identifier for the vehicle they own. This is why VIN lookup and Year/Make/Model (YMM) are essential search features for the automotive eCommerce industry, especially when you have them both.

X-Cart provides VIN lookup combined with our native Year/Make/Model fitment search to offer a faster way to refine search results for your customers and find the exact fits quickly and hassle-free.

The YMM tool designed by X-Cart empowers sellers to:

• remember filters for non-logged users
• save vehicles for the registered customers
• build custom landing pages 
• import and export vehicle fitment data in bulk
• collect and present valuable statistics

Working as a killer combo in your X-Cart store, VIN lookup and YMM search filters ensure a high-quality user experience for your automotive eCommerce website customers. In addition, the VIN Lookup can be used as an alternative to the Year/Make/Model selectors and automatically decode the year, make, and model of a shopper’s car for maximized search accuracy.

What You’ll Get with VIN lookup and YMM in Your Corner

• Ease of search and filtering – customers get instant real-time access to your rich product catalogs 
• Enhanced auto parts search accuracy – search results are filtered for the exact car model your shoppers own
• Increased order accuracy – your customers get exactly what they need which results in lower return and cart abandonment rates
• Additional options for personalization – with the Garage feature, customers can save a certain type of vehicle and access the stored list for the facilitated car parts search in the future. 
• High-quality customer experience – fulfilling your buyers’ needs is the right way to the improved customer loyalty and trust 
• Reduced costs due to built-in functionality – prebuilt search functionality frees you up from third-party fees and costs associated with maintenance.

Summing Up

Fitment data is critically important for any automotive eCommerce store. And the advanced product fitment verification tools give your customers peace of mind ensuring that certain parts will be functional with their vehicles.

Given the impact that buyers’ decision-making process has on the conversion rates, it is extremely important to eliminate the guessing of the auto parts specs and provide a superior shopping experience.

With this in mind, X-Cart made ensuring your website has the quality fitment search tool its #1 priority.