In recent years, people along Highway 13 (the section passing through Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) have become familiar with the image of a thin young man with burnt black skin, hands full of burn scars... making a living by making frame and number numbers. cars on this route.
Lying under the car to change the chassis number, Mr. Tri said loudly that this profession is always dirty because people often crawl under the car to change the chassis number, and crawl under the dusty hood to change the engine number. .
The person who shifts the engine has to stick his hand deep into the car engine, inserting his fingers into every corner, which is not simple (Photo: Xuan Truong).
“This job sounds strange and simple, but once you get started, it's difficult and strenuous. Those who have knowledge and experience can complete a vehicle in 5-10 minutes, otherwise it will take an hour to get a number," Mr. Tri said about his profession.
Every day, he has to wake up early, dial numbers for car stores and showrooms so they can prepare documents and hand over cars to customers. Although this job is difficult and miserable, it offers a stable income. Every day, Mr. Tri can transport 30-40 vehicles. Each vehicle has 6 sets of gears, depending on the difficulty or ease of the vehicle, the salary is 300-400 thousand VND/vehicle.
Mr. Tri said that in 2015, he left his hometown and moved to Ho Chi Minh City to work as a painter and car repairer at a garage. During the process of working as an auto repairman, Mr. Tri saw many customers renting the chassis and engine numbers, but few workers accepted them because this job took a lot of time, rolling under the car and working hard on the engine.
While changing the engine of a car, Mr. Tri continued to receive 5 phone calls from other car salon owners to schedule a time to change the engine (Photo: Xuan Truong).
After such times, when he lay awake at night and thought, Mr. Tri rekindled his intention to become a professional service provider of chassis and engine numbers.
From that day on, he regularly researched car brands and models and memorized the location of the chassis number and engine number of each type of car. In 2021, Mr. Tri officially entered the profession of changing frame and engine numbers.
"After going through enough difficulties and getting used to the job, I quit being a car mechanic and went directly to auto shops along Highway 13 to introduce the service of receiving chassis and serial numbers. machine.
At first, the garages and showrooms were still confused, but because this was a practical need, as time went on, the number of people calling me to come and dial the number increased," Mr. Tri confided.
Currently, each car usually has to have 5 sets of chassis and engine numbers (Photo: Xuan Truong).
Also according to Mr. Tri, to change the car's number, you need to use A4 yellow-base decal paper according to Traffic Police standards, apply it to the embossed number on the car's body (which is the frame number and engine number) and Use a pencil to scratch the surface of the paper so that the number sequence is printed on the paper.
In order to do the numbers in a timely manner for the auto salons, Mr. Tri has now recruited a number of young workers. After a period of hands-on training, he distributes matches to new workers to do the numbers.
“To pursue this profession, you must also know how to repair cars in a basic way. A person new to the profession must spend 1-2 years to understand and grasp the structure, chassis arrangement, and engine of each vehicle model and model, from which they can find the location to stamp the frame number and engine number. , Mr. Tri said.
For cars with chassis numbers and engine numbers in easy positions, Mr. Tri can do it in 5-7 minutes (Photo: Xuan Truong).
Mr. Nguyen Thai Tan, representative of THP auto salon, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the car frame number is the only series of numbers attached to the car frame, used to identify the vehicle.
The engine number is a unique series of numbers attached to the vehicle engine, used to identify the vehicle's engine. The engine number is usually engraved directly on the engine block.
“According to regulations, to register a new vehicle, the vehicle owner must provide information about the chassis number and engine number to the police agency where the vehicle registration procedures are carried out. To be able to provide this information, the vehicle owner must know where the vehicle's engine frame number is located in order to copy/record it," Mr. Tan explained.
The most difficult thing is getting under a car with a diesel engine, because it's dusty, hot, and smells of oil (Photo: Xuan Truong).
Mr. Tan also said that to set the frame and engine numbers, you must use specialized paper. In some cases, the vehicle's engine frame number is in a complicated, hard-to-reach position. People have to crawl under the car and squeeze their hands into the car's engine slots to do it, which is very difficult.
For skilled people, it takes about 5-15 minutes, but for those who are not familiar, it takes 1-2 hours to complete the car's gear sets.
"In order to promptly complete the procedures and deliver the car to the customer, every time I sell a car, I call Mr. Tri to come and quickly change the numbers. Not only me, but most of the salons along Highway 13 are Mr. Tri's acquaintances," Mr. Tan said.
