Description

n8n-nodes-carsxe

Comprehensive vehicle data integration for n8n – VIN decoding, license plate lookup, vehicle history, market values, and more using the CarsXE API.

🚗 Features

• VIN Decoding – Decode US & International VINs with full specifications
• License Plate Lookup – Multi-country plate decoder (US, CA, AU, UK, PK)
• Vehicle History – Ownership records and accident history
• Market Values – Real-time vehicle valuations
• Safety Recalls – Check manufacturer recalls
• Vehicle Images – Fetch professional vehicle photos
• OBD Codes – Decode diagnostic trouble codes
• OCR Recognition – Extract VINs and plates from images

📦 Installation

Via Community Nodes (Recommended)

1. Go to Settings → Community Nodes
2. Click Install a community node
3. Enter: n8n-nodes-carsxe
4. Click Install

Via npm

# Global installation
npm install -g n8n-nodes-carsxe

# Local installation
npm install n8n-nodes-carsxe

# Restart n8n
n8n start

Via Docker

docker run -d \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -e N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES=n8n-nodes-carsxe \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n

🔑 Credentials

1. Get your API key from CarsXE.com
2. In n8n: Credentials → New → CarsXE API
3. Paste your API key and save

🎯 Operations

VIN Operations

• Decode VIN – Full vehicle specifications
• Decode International VIN – Worldwide VIN support
• Get History Report – Ownership & accident history
• Get Market Value – Current market valuation
• Get Safety Recalls – Manufacturer recalls

License Plate Operations

• Decode License Plate – Vehicle info from plate
• Recognize Plate From Image – OCR plate extraction

Vehicle Data Operations

• Get Images – Professional vehicle photos
• Query by Year/Make/Model – Search by attributes

Diagnostic Operations

• Decode OBD Code – Interpret diagnostic codes
• Extract VIN From Image – OCR VIN extraction

📖 Quick Examples

Example 1: Decode VIN

// Configuration
Resource: VIN
Operation: Decode VIN
VIN: WBAFR7C57CC811956

// Response
{
  "success": true,
  "vin": "WBAFR7C57CC811956",
  "year": "2012",
  "make": "BMW",
  "model": "7 Series",
  "trim": "750i",
  "engine": "4.4L V8 Turbocharged"
}

Example 2: License Plate Lookup

// Configuration
Resource: License Plate
Operation: Decode License Plate
Plate: 7XER187
Country: US
State: CA (in Additional Options)

// Response
{
  "success": true,
  "plate": "7XER187",
  "state": "CA",
  "make": "BMW",
  "model": "750Li"
}

Example 3: Get Vehicle Images

// Configuration
Resource: Vehicle Data
Operation: Get Images
Make: BMW
Model: X5
Year: 2019 (in Additional Options)

// Response
{
  "success": true,
  "images": [
    {
      "angle": "front",
      "url": "https://cdn.carsxe.com/..."
    }
  ]
}

🔄 Common Workflows

VIN Decoder API

[Webhook] → [CarsXE: Decode VIN] → [HTTP Response]

License Plate Scanner

[Webhook] → [CarsXE: Recognize Plate] → [Database]

Daily Recall Checker

[Schedule] → [CarsXE: Get Recalls] → [Email/Slack]

🐛 Troubleshooting

Error: "Request failed with status code 401"

• Check your API key in Credentials
• Get a new key from CarsXE Dashboard

Error: "Invalid VIN format"

• VIN must be exactly 17 characters
• Example: WBAFR7C57CC811956

Node not appearing after installation

• Refresh your browser
• Clear cache: rm -rf ~/.n8n/cache
• Restart n8n

📊 Response Format

Success

{
	"success": true
	// ... operation data
}

Error

{
	"success": false,
	"statusCode": 401,
	"error": "Invalid API key",
	"error_description": "Please check your credentials"
}

📄 License

MIT License – Copyright (c) 2025 CarsXE