AAA East Central offers free VIN Etching in Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WBOY) — AAA East Central provided a free service in Bridgeport on Wednesday to help motorists avoid auto theft and deter would-be thieves.

The service offered was for vehicle identification number etching. According to law enforcement, having a vehicle’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) etched on its windows is more likely to deter thieves and chopshops because it makes the vehicle less profitable during resale.

During the event, a AAA Employee etched the vehicle’s VIN on every window which took about five to seven minutes for the whole process.

“We put stencil on there and dabbed the serial number into the stencil with etching cream and it sits for about three minutes and then we peel it off, wipe it off and it’s clean and good to go. It does not deter anything in the car as far as visibility. It’s on the back window as well, it does not hurt the backup camera anything like that. It is very small, but the thing a thief could look for and it’s a good deterrent,” AAA Safety Advisor JJ Miller said.

Wednesday’s VIN Etching Event lasted from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., but if you are interested in getting your vehicle’s VIN etched, you can contact your local AAA for more information on their next etching event.

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