General Window Etch Code

[frupi]

Having only just recently bought our own 500, I thought it worth mentioning to those who haven’t already done so, that you might wish to check with the International Security Register (I have no affiliation with this body whatsoever), that your 500 is actually registered in your name. I am sure that all 500 owners have spotted the window etch system on their own vehicles.
For first registered owners this is cost free –paid for by the dealer (but it is still your own responsibility I believe, to register); however, for second or subsequent owners like me, you might want to check that your own details are held by this body. It is worth noting, that if your vehicle was previously owned by a company (as my own 500 was), not a private individual and you are the second owner, you can register your details for free instead of paying a fee. There is a note on the ISR website informing owners of this fact and it did not cost me a penny to register our vehicle in my wife’s name. So for example, if your Fiat was pre-registered and the only previous owner on the V5 (log book) was the garage you bought it from, you should be able to register the car with the ISR in your own name free of charge. The first thing I did when I PX’d our Mazda, (who also use the ISR window etch system), was log onto the ISR website where I changed the new owner details to the garage that bought our old vehicle from us, therefore placing the onus completely on the garage to remind the next owner to register the vehicle with the ISR. Some may well ask “What’s the point?” to which I can only reply that I don’t want a visit from the police or phone calls from the ISR enquiring if I still have anything to do with a vehicle I have long since moved on should it be stolen from its new owner.
Anyway, I telephoned the ISR using the number on their website (not the telephone number etched on the windows!). They confirmed the etch code against the registration number of our Fiat (interestingly, the colour of our vehicle had never been recorded so it was worth the update on that fact alone). I informed the ISR my wife was the new, legal owner and she has now been issued with a certificate by the ISR confirming their database has been updated.
[FONT=&quot]I hope this information is of use to those interested.[/FONT]

 

[eco sTAr]

We purchased ours new from the dealer and it was registered automatically, so I presume this is 'normal' for first registration.

 

[frupi]

Let's put it this way, the dealer SHOULD register the vehicle with the ISR. As I found out with my own, not everything is often done as it should be. The colour of our 500 (to the surprise of the guy at the ISR who I spoke to) had not been recorded. I also remember when my wife and I bought our Mazda 7 years ago, we actually ended up checking with the ISR ourselves that the correct details for our vehicle were held. On the ISR website, they have a check page where you can put the etch code of your own vehicle and it will tell you whether or not its details are held on their database. It will also tell you if it has been recorded as lost/stolen/cloned or destroyed. What it won't tell you however, is if you are recorded as the actual owner of the vehicle.

 

[chicaneuk]

Hm. Thanks for the info. I should be able to get my registered for free first time as I believe it never actually went to a first owner or anything.. will investigate!

 

[bgunn]

Let's put it this way, the dealer SHOULD register the vehicle with the ISR.

Getting the ISR paperwork through the post a short time after you buy the car is a good way of knowing it's registered.

 

[frupi]

I agree, if you bought the vehicle from a Fiat dealer. If you didn't, it's extremely unlikely that any independent is going to bother doing it for you, (unless they are particularly brilliantly customer focused) let alone even bothering to mention the etch code on the windows. The thread was intended as information for people such as myself who bought second hand from an independent. If you've received paperwork from the ISR in your name having bought new, obviously, all is in order. At least I now know ours is all in order.