How to find your model number before you order a part

Every spare-part search starts with three numbers. Getting them right first saves a wrong order, a return and a week of waiting.

Bosch, for example, says its model number (the "E-Nr") is "printed on the Rating Plate", and that entering it on its spare-parts site brings up the part diagrams and parts list for that appliance [1].

Steps

1. Make it safe. Switch the appliance off at the wall and unplug it, or take the battery out of a cordless tool or remote, before you move it or look behind a panel.
2. Check the usual places. Labels are often in the same few spots. Washing machines and dishwashers: around the door opening or on the inside edge of the door. Fridges: on an inside wall. Ovens: on the door frame. Small appliances and electronics: on the base or the back, sometimes inside the battery compartment. Bikes: on the frame, often underneath. Cars: in the vehicle documents and on the identification plate. If it is not in any of these, the user manual usually shows where to look.
3. Photograph the whole label. Take one photo of the full plate and one close-up. Copy the model number exactly, with every letter, dash, slash and suffix: a suffix can mark a different version of the same product.
4. Write down the serial number too. If a manufacturer changed a part during production, the serial number is how its parts service tells which version you have.
5. Look at the broken part itself. Many plastic parts carry a number moulded on the inside face. Photograph it in good light; it is often the fastest route to the right listing.
6. Search the manufacturer's spare-parts page. Enter the model number, open the parts diagram and match the drawing to your part. In the EU, washing-machine makers must publish the list of parts sold to end users, how to order them and the repair instructions on a free-access website [2].
7. Keep the photos. If the part turns out to be discontinued, the same photos and numbers are what a maker needs to quote for a replacement.

If the label is missing or worn

• Try the user manual, the original receipt or the box: the model number is usually on all three.
• For vehicles, decode the VIN. In the US, the government's vPIC decoder is built from data that manufacturers submit, and the agency intends it "to be freely used by the public" [3].
• Search the moulded part number, or measure the part and describe where it fits. The measuring guide shows what to record.

When the part is no longer made

Manufacturers stop selling parts eventually, and some parts are only ever sold inside a large, expensive assembly. A maker can often remake a small plastic clip, knob or bracket from the original. A UK government study warns that copying a part's shape without redesigning it "is generally considered inappropriate", so a good maker will also ask how the part is used [4]. Keep the model number with your job post: it lets the maker look up drawings or existing designs for the same product.