ServNet Standardizes Vehicle Descriptions Using Black Book VIN and Universal Vehicle Code System

INDIANAPOLIS – ServNet has chosen Black Book as its provider of vehicle identification information. All vehicles that are sent to a participating ServNet auction will be checked in and identified by a standardized description using Black Book's VIN interpretation, which includes the added component of Black Book's Universal Vehicle Code (UVC) system to identify the vehicle down to the trim level.

“One of the biggest challenges facing not just the auction industry but the automobile industry as a whole is the lack of a standardized VIN-based description system that drills down as far as the trim level,” said Warren Byrd, chief operating officer of ServNet. “We’ve been grappling with this problem for years, and after carefully evaluating all the available options, ServNet has selected Black Book as its provider of VIN information. Utilizing Black Book's solutions, ServNet member auctions can more accurately classify vehicles, saving the auctions and their customers a great deal of time by streamlining the vehicle identification and reporting processes. Standardized vehicle descriptions will facilitate the availability of consolidated vehicle information (including a ServNet Market Report) on ServNet’s Web site, which will complement our broadcast technology.”

“The issue of how to correctly identify a vehicle from its VIN has been a major concern for the both the auctions and the dealers who attend them for as long as I can remember,” said Bob Burnett, president of Black Book. “Several years ago, we began to assign a universal vehicle code to the trim level of each vehicle to avoid the confusion caused by overlapping VINs. For example, the VIN might tell you the year, make, and model of a particular vehicle, but without the trim level you could be off by several thousand dollars.”