How to Identify Cars

Co-authored by Michael Dey

Last Updated: May 30, 2024

Have you ever driven with one of those people who seems to be able to tell you the make, model, and even year of a car from clear down the street? Would you like to be able to do the same? It's not that tough, but it does take some practice.

Steps

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Choose someplace to start and start watching and observing.
- You can probably already identify the make and model of cars you have driven. Practice spotting others like yours on the road.
- Choose a particular type of cars that interest you and try those next. If you happen to be a Mustang fan, you could start with those.
- Choose a nationality or region to specialize in. Admire German engineering for a while, if you like.
- Focus on a particular class or category of cars. If you have more fun spotting sports cars than minivans, start there.
- Once you have mastered one category to your satisfaction, branch out to another.
Does it have an unusual shape to the grill or tail lights? For classic cars, tune in to things like tail fins, running boards and rumble seats, too.

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Use stop lights and parking lots to get a better look at cars of interest. Ride in a friend's car. Peek through a window at the controls. Ask people how they like their cars.
While most of the cars on the road are less than 15 years old, many hobbyists and enthusiasts devote their time to restoring and maintaining older cars. Visit a classic car show, museum, or meet. Talk to the owners, if they're around, too. Many of them love to talk about their cars and their work, and they're experts on the subject.
Read automobile magazines or websites to see what's new and what concept cars the manufacturers are dreaming up. Look around for new developments, too, such as fuel cells, hybrid, and electric vehicles.
You probably spend plenty of time in traffic. Guess what a car is from down the street, then read the badges when you pull up next to it at a stoplight or walk past in a parking lot.

Expert Q&A

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Question

Are there any other ways to identify cars?

Michael Dey
Automotive Technician
Michael Dey is an Automotive Technician specializing in sharing detailed automotive content and restorations on rare and exotic vehicles. Michael has been passionately working on and restoring cars for over 15 years. He has a follower base of over 30,000 YouTube subscribers and 28 million views. Michael is a Factory Trained Master Guild Audi Technician and ASE Certified Master Automotive Technician.

Michael Dey

Automotive Technician

Expert Answer

Another method to identify cars is by checking the driver's front door jamb. A sticker located there contains all the necessary information. If this sticker isn't accessible, look for the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) stamp. This stamp is typically found beneath the driver's front windshield, positioned at the bottom on the driver's side of the car. If you have internet access, you can also search that into a VIN decoder, that will tell you the exact make, model, year, configuration, and even more.

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How can I identify the age of a vehicle?

Community Answer

The registration plate is a good place to start. Cars made after 2001 have the AA11 BBB format, with AA indicating the place it was registered, 11 indicating the year, and BBB as an identifier to distinguish it from other cars. The way numbering works is if the car was made between February and September, the first digit will be the third digit of the year, if not it is the third number in the year +5. The second number in a registration plate is the fourth (last) number in the year. For example a car registered in January 2006 would have the numbers 56, but a car registered in August 2011 would have the numbers 11.

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How do I identify car names?

Community Answer

Most car names are on the trunk of the car, showing which company and which model it is. Unless you optionally remove the model name, for most cars, it should be where the trunk is.

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Tips

Is there a particular car that interests you? See if you can drive one. Rent one for a weekend or take it for a test drive at a dealership.

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Make use of car-spotter guides, both books and websites, if you see something you don't recognize or want to pin down in more detail. They show a variety of cars and note identifying details so you can tell the difference between different model years. You may find such books in the reference section of your library.

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If you like, read up on cars that interest you. In what years did it go through a big design change? Does it have a rotary engine or some other unusual feature? Was it made with an unusual material, such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, or stainless steel? How much horsepower do the different trims have? Was the design wildly popular or a short-lived flop? It won't help you tell which is which, but it will help you appreciate what you see.

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Warnings

People can be very protective of their cars. Be prepared to explain that you're just admiring and keep your distance if they ask you to. Don't touch any car that's not yours without permission.

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