Odel
MCP server: One MCP server.

VIN

@carwhereMCP server · External

Decode any US-market VIN, check NHTSA recalls, and look up verified buyer-paid car prices. Free.

Cars & vehiclesv0.1.2MITTypeScript
Freeno charge per call
How to install

Runs on your machine from its package; the steps are below.

What it does

  1. Reads
  2. Writes
  3. High impact

At most: only reads or looks up information.

What it costs

Free

Odel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.

Runs locally over stdio

This server isn't hosted — your MCP client launches it from a package registry. Use one of the commands below, or drop the config into your client (e.g. Claude Desktop).

npmcarwhere-vin-mcpv0.1.2

Run

npx -y carwhere-vin-mcp

MCP client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vin": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "carwhere-vin-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
README2 min read

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.

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):

json
{
  "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):

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

Claude Code

bash
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}

Configuration

Optional environment variable:

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

Development

bash
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

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