What Are the Barcodes On Some Car Windows?

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benzoboy

benzoboy

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BenRB26
Recently I have been in Florida and while I was there I noticed that many cars had a barcode sticker on the rear side window, at first I thought it was just like bumper sticker (But on a window o_o) then I started seeing them on lots of cars and it started bugging me

Anyone willing to help me out with this?
 
All the cars that are GM company cars around here have bar codes in the window, I'm guessing it's the same in Florida. Either that or they are rental cars.
 
^I'd guess rental cars. Though I can't imagine why anyone would want to vacation in Florida.
 
surely rental cars. would the bar code be used to scan cars when they are returned?
 
Apparently, having a visual framenumber (VIN ?) is becoming the norm..

I'm guessing the cars you've seen it on have been pretty new ?..
 
The people that owned those cars lived in gated communities that require a barcode to lift the gate so you don't have to stop at the guard desk every time you want to leave/enter the community. There's a scanner on the side of the road once you turn into the neighborhood, and it scans the barcode and lifts the gate for you automaticly.
 
Sometimes they are used for tolls as well. There's a toll bridge near here that is not part of the EZ-Pass system, and it separates two halves of a town across a wide river.

It's $2 a trip if you pay cash, but to avoid rioting by the locals, for $4 you can buy one of those barcode stickers and it's good for unlimited trips for a year.
 
There was a barcode looking thing in the bottom left windshield of my old Saab. VIN purposes?
 
CDailey
The people that owned those cars lived in gated communities that require a barcode to lift the gate so you don't have to stop at the guard desk every time you want to leave/enter the community. There's a scanner on the side of the road once you turn into the neighborhood, and it scans the barcode and lifts the gate for you automaticly.
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Exactly. When we lived on the Isle of Palms our neighborhood had an entrance with three lanes - two with security guards that would check your ID/pass, or the 3rd lane with an automatic gate that would open once a scanner scanned a decal on your car.
 
I think the bases have pretty much been covered;

I know when I had the Town Car on my trip to Miami there was a barcode in the front and rear window, as I recall. That was done to check the car in and out of the Budget building I believe, and as others have said, some may also be for toll roads (like the Illinois EZ-Pass system) and the like.
 
I live in Florida, and actually asked people about it. They said they use it to enter their gated communities. (Kinda like E-Z Pass/Leeway).

I also asked my cousin who has one, got the same answer.
 
The large bar-codes on the OUTSIDE of the passenger windows are for residence entrance at gated communities. The HOA's think they are controlling access by requiring this but the truth is the bar codes are jeopardizing safety of the community. According to my community's guards the bar codes are being stolen and reused to gain illegal entrance to the community. A bar code can also be duplicated by a digital camera and a printer. Some enterprising bar-code company has sole these HOA's a bill of goods! Not to mention the LARGE bar-code obstructs part of the window and defaces the vehicle. :dunce:
 
If it's a sticker, and they are on multiple windows, then they're probably from a rental car company, Hertz will have one in the bottom left corner of the windows if you're looking from the outside, for example.

If it's bigger and on the front, then it's probably for a gated community or security for work parking.
 
Kylehnat
^I'd guess rental cars. Though I can't imagine why anyone would want to vacation in Florida.
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We recently came back from a holiday in Florida... :odd:

(Our rental car had a barcode on the rear window. As did the two the previous year.)
 
I just had this mental image:

Carton of milk *beep*, 6-pack of Coors *beep*, hand soap *beep*, 1995 Volkswagen Beetle *beep*, Agent Hitman 47 *beep*...
 
Well, i have another thing to add to the mix, me mums car (vw golf) has a barcode stamped/painted onto each window, and this is just the glass manafactures barcode to show what type of glass has been used (what grade/what tint) and so on.
 
Well now I am working in the trade I can say. I work for a company that refurbishes hertz's cars before resale (Sometimes I get to drive Abarth 500's and Passat CC's :sly: Which is good being 18), the barcodes on the quarter windows are for identification, our company uses them to track the progress of the job too. Where are the stamps on your mum's windows? It could be an ex rental.
 
Alex.
Well now I am working in the trade I can say. I work for a company that refurbishes hertz's cars before resale (Sometimes I get to drive Abarth 500's and Passat CC's :sly: Which is good being 18), the barcodes on the quarter windows are for identification, our company uses them to track the progress of the job too. Where are the stamps on your mum's windows? It could be an ex rental.
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Nah she bought it new from a reputable dealer in 1998, the stamp wasn't a sticker it had the manafactures name on it and the amount of tint of the window, she has recently sold the car so I can't check but i've seen it loads of other car windows.
 
Madam Captain
The large bar-codes on the OUTSIDE of the passenger windows are for residence entrance at gated communities. The HOA's think they are controlling access by requiring this but the truth is the bar codes are jeopardizing safety of the community. According to my community's guards the bar codes are being stolen and reused to gain illegal entrance to the community. A bar code can also be duplicated by a digital camera and a printer. Some enterprising bar-code company has sole these HOA's a bill of goods! Not to mention the LARGE bar-code obstructs part of the window and defaces the vehicle. :dunce:
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Actually, when I lived in a gated community in Jacksonville, Florida the bar code was on the inside of the window. Evidently this isn't true for all gated communities. I don't see why you'd want it on the outside for the reasons you just outlined.
 
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I mean, I don't know what you're talking about.

Gated communities and other gates use them, rental cars use them too for quick scanning. Many road cars have a bar code by the VIN decal, and I've noticed that Mercedes-Benzes have one where the rear license plate goes, presumably to be checked before export/shipping.
 

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