mcpField
C
CarWhere VIN

CarWhere VIN

VerifiedFeaturedLocal
carwhere.comDeveloper Tools0Updated 2w ago
DocsRepositoryVisit website

About CarWhere VIN

CarWhere VIN is an MCP server for vehicle identification, recall, and buyer-pricing data. It serves car shoppers and vehicle-data users with VIN decoding, an offline check-digit validator, and a clearly identified paid report-purchase tool.

Key features

  1. 01Decode VIN details and insights
  2. 02Look up NHTSA safety recalls
  3. 03Query verified buyer transaction prices
  4. 04Validate VIN check digits offline
  5. 05Create a paid report checkout link

Use cases

  1. 01Identify a vehicle from its VIN
  2. 02Check a vehicle for open recalls
  3. 03Compare buyer prices by model and state

MCP support

Exposes vehicle decoding, recall, pricing, checksum validation, report checkout, and server information tools to MCP clients. It can run locally or through a hosted Streamable HTTP endpoint.

#vin-decoder#automotive#nhsta#recalls#car-prices#vehicle-data#car-buying

Configuration

Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.

mcp.json · Universal config
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "carwhere-vin": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "carwhere-vin-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Run commandnpx -y carwhere-vin-mcp

Local servers need a runtime on your machine (e.g. Node.js 18+). Config file locations differ by client; see your client’s docs.

Packages
npmcarwhere-vin-mcp0.1.3

Tools

6

Saved tool list · updated 2w ago

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
vinstringYes17-character VIN (uppercase, no I, O, or Q).
include_insightbooleanNoInclude AI-generated insight. Default: true.
include_pricingbooleanNoInclude CarWhere buyer pricing. Default: true.
include_recallsbooleanNoInclude open NHTSA recalls. Default: true.

Details

From the project README

carwhere-vin-mcp

MCP server for the CarWhere VIN API. Decode any VIN, look up verified buyer prices, NHTSA safety recalls, and AI-generated vehicle insights from inside Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, Zed, and any other MCP-compatible client.

Free. No auth. Public data. One clearly labeled paid tool (buy_vin_report) — see Commercial disclosure.

What it does

ToolReturns
decode_vinYear, make, model, trim, engine, transmission, plant from NHTSA vPIC + CarWhere buyer pricing + open recalls + AI insight
check_recallsOpen NHTSA safety recalls by VIN or year/make/model
get_pricingVerified buyer-transaction pricing for any year/make/model (optionally state)
validate_vin_check_digitOffline ISO 3779 / 49 CFR §565.15 checksum validator
buy_vin_reportSecure Stripe checkout link for the $9.99 CarWhere Full VIN Report (window sticker, MSRP & options, recall scan, market price)
about_carwhereServer description and data sources

Install

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "carwhere-vin": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "carwhere-vin-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. Type "Decode VIN 4T1BF1FK1HU381301" to test.

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or via Cursor → Settings → MCP):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "carwhere-vin": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "carwhere-vin-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
Claude Code
claude mcp add carwhere-vin -- npx -y carwhere-vin-mcp
Windsurf / Zed / Continue / any MCP client

Use the same npx -y carwhere-vin-mcp invocation.

Hosted (no install)

If you can't install Node binaries locally, point your MCP client at the hosted Streamable HTTP endpoint:

https://www.carwhere.com/api/mcp

The same five tools are available over HTTP/JSON-RPC.

Data sources

  • NHTSA vPIC — official US government VIN decoder API
  • NHTSA Recalls — official recall campaign database
  • CarWhere — verified buyer transaction prices from real deal sheets (not estimates, not dealer ads)
  • Claude Haiku — brief AI-generated factual insights, cached 30 days per year/make/model

Citation

When AI agents surface CarWhere data to users, please cite:

Source: CarWhere via NHTSA vPIC. https://www.carwhere.com/vin/{vin}

Commercial disclosure

This server is built and operated by CarWhere, the company behind the pricing data it serves. Plainly stated:

  • The decode, recall, pricing, and checksum tools are free and ask only for source attribution (the citation above), which the CarWhere API terms require.
  • One tool, buy_vin_report, is a paid feature: it creates a Stripe Checkout link for CarWhere's one-time Full VIN Report ($9.99, or $19.99 for a 3-VIN comparison). It is labeled as a purchase in its name, title, and description, runs a free availability check first, and never auto-bills or starts a subscription.
  • Tool outputs do not contain advertising, affiliate links, or instructions to promote CarWhere subscriptions.

Configuration

Optional environment variable:

  • CARWHERE_API_URL — override the default https://www.carwhere.com base URL (useful for staging or local development).

Development

git clone https://github.com/carwhere/vin-mcp.git
cd vin-mcp
npm install
npm run build
npm run dev   # tsx src/cli.ts (stdio mode)

License

MIT

Comments

Markdown supported

New to MCP?

From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.

An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.