When buying a used car, it is very important to know exactly the year of its production. There are several ways in which you can find out what year a car was produced.
The easiest way is to look into technical certificate car. If the owner constantly used his vehicle, underwent technical inspections on time, then you can completely trust the passport. The year of production is also indicated in the OSAGO and CASCO policies.
However, there are often situations when there are simply no documents for the car, for example, if the car has been in the garage for a long time or it has been driven from abroad. In this case, you should resort to other methods of determining the year of production.
VIN-code
VIN-code is a 17-character plate, which is usually located under the hood or on the cross member under the front bumper. In any case, the seller must show you the VIN-code, using it you can get a lot of useful information about the car, the production date is the tenth character.
You should be guided in this way:
- Years from 1971 to 1979 and from 2001 to 2009 are indicated by numbers 1-9;
- Years from 1980 to 2000 are indicated by the letters A, B, C and up to Y (the letters I, O, Q, U, Z are not used for marking).
It is worth noting that the model year of manufacture is indicated in this way. Many manufacturers use their own designation system, for example, the American division of Ford in the 11th and 12th positions of the Vin-code encrypts the exact year and month of the car's release, and Renault, Mercedes, Toyota do not indicate the year of manufacture at all and can only be determined using plates on the body.
There are many resources on the Internet that can help you decipher the VIN code, with their help you will find out not only the production date, but also the country, engine type, equipment, and so on.
If the car was registered and operated in Russia, then the VIN code must be in the traffic police databases. If the code is broken, then not everything is going smoothly with this machine.
Other ways to determine the date of car production
- There is a label with the year of production on the seat belts at the very bottom, it is clear that this method is valid only for new cars and those in which the belts have not changed;
- On the bottom of the front passenger seat there should be a plate indicating the release date, if the owner allows you to remove the seat, you can check;
- The windshield has the date of its production, if it has not changed, then the dates will match.
Usually sellers have no need to hide the real date of the car's release, but if you are refused to provide the necessary information, there is reason to think - and do you buy a pig in a poke.
Of course, everyone who wants to buy a car wants it to be not very old. The younger your car, the longer it will last and, accordingly, vice versa, the older, the less. You can determine the date of production and release of your car if you look at the entry that is affixed in the technical passport for this car or try to decipher the identification number (body number).
It is not at all difficult to establish the production number of a car by the markings that are applied to the car window glass. The name of the manufacturer, the standards of compliance are displayed there, the month and year of glass manufacture are indicated. Basically, the year of production is indicated by one digit, which is the last in the calendar, and the month is indicated by dots and this date stands before the beginning of the year. This is the simplest way to determine the month of car production.
It so happens that the fraction symbol is used in the date of glass manufacture. Each of the slanted fractions replaces five months and appears in the markings of glasses that are released starting in the month of May. In general, in the car you can find many marked parts, from the markings of which you can determine the release date, and the time from the start of mass production to the warehouse is about six months, after that you yourself can determine the time when your car was born.
The date of manufacture of the car must be clearly indicated in all documents for the car itself. But there are situations when it is not easy to determine the date of production and release, for example, when there are no relevant documents for the car. It is also required to find out the exact month of production of the car, this is very important for crossing the border.
The release date can be set according to the numbers of the main units of the car and its parts: gearbox, engine, chassis. There is also its own methodology that allows you to determine the release date, it was developed by the vehicle manufacturers themselves. There are also rules: for the month of release, the exact date is the fifteenth, and if you could find out only the year of release, then the date is generally taken as the first of July of that year.
Remember, only the manufacturer of this car or a regional representative of the company can accurately determine the date of production and release from the known part numbers of the car. In his competence, how to find out the month of production of the car. There are also certain situations when it is impossible to determine the release date of the car and then you need to turn to a specialized examination, which is carried out in customs laboratories or licensed organizations.
Car enthusiasts are well aware of the fact that any vehicle, be it a passenger car, motorcycle or trailer, possesses. From English, Vehicle Identification Number literally translates as "Vehicle Identification Number". VIN is compiled based on international standards.
There are only two of them:
ISO 3779-1983;
ISO 3780.
Numbers are typed on the places regulated by the manufacturer, and it itself consists of 17 characters. The first three signs are tied to the place of production (the first sign is the continent, the second is the country, the third is the plant). The six following signs describe the characteristics and features of the car - engine size, body type, equipment, etc. Next are the numbers and signs of the VIS, in English - Vehicle Identification Section ("Automotive Identification Part"). It is in this section that the code of the year of production of the vehicle is encrypted.
What is the VIN code for?
To begin with, let's decide why you might need to find out the year of manufacture according to the VIN code? Besides the fact that it is determined when passing through customs and the modern VIN code is intended for the selection of spare parts for the car. To do this, automotive concerns have created special spare parts catalogs EPC (Electronic Parts Catalog), in which it is described in detail which modification of the spare part should be in a certain place. As you know, concerns do not like to produce "individual" cars, but even if it is released to order, all the detailed information is immediately reflected in the new version of such a catalog.
Mismatch of the year of manufacture
The concern cannot stop the release of the previous model one day and switch to the release of another. For example, the release of a pre-styled Ford Ranger is carried out until, say, the end of 2009, in September of this year the plant continues to produce this modification, but at the same time the presented Ford Ranger of the updated version is already being released from the conveyor of this concern. It will go on sale only in 2010, but the plant needs to produce a certain number of cars in order for most of the official dealers to simultaneously present the restyled car on their trading floors. In these cases, despite the fact that the de facto release date of the car is 2009, the VIN will indicate the year of manufacture 2010. All this reflects the electronic catalog and the sign responsible for identifying the year of manufacture of the car.
Some electronic catalogs of such concerns as, for example, Daewoo, SsangYong, do not automatically provide complete information on the year of the car's production. And the lineup undergoes modifications depending on the year of manufacture. Here a spare parts picker or a car enthusiast will have to decipher the VIN “manually”, taking into account the signs that identify the year of manufacture. Old models of Audi, Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda also do not provide complete information and the year of manufacture can only be determined with the help of self-decryption.
The same features are possessed by the cars of famous concerns assembled in Russia and in some Asian countries. Fortunately, some companies, such as Hyundai and Kia, indicate both a Russian identifier and a VIN code for Korean production. Chinese and Asian cars do not have electronic catalogs for the selection of spare parts at all, and you can find out the release date of a car, therefore, its model range, only by the 10th digit of the VIN. Note, however, that for China, the indication in several places of the VIN of the car on the body is mandatory in connection with the laws of this country.
Knowing the model year of production will give you the opportunity to have the most accurate information on your vehicle and will directly help you when operating a car.
Vehicle production year according to VIN code
So, how do you find out the year of issue by the VIN code? The 10th or 11th character is used to identify the year of manufacture in the VIN. The first option is used by most of the automotive concerns in Asia, Europe and some North American concerns. The 11th character identifies the year of manufacture in accordance with the traditions of the US automotive industry. Note that the European subsidiaries of Ford, originally American, also use the eleventh character to identify the year of manufacture. Also, that the concerns Toyota, Mercedes Benz and Renault by VIN do not identify the model year at all, it is pierced on the body on a special nameplate.
To understand better, here is an example of a car identification plate for the year of manufacture from 2010:
- 2010 - A
- 2011 - B
- 2012 - C
- 2013 - D
- 2014 - E
- 2015 - F
- 2016 - G
- 2017 - H
- 2018 - J
As you can see, the identification number is ordered according to the Latin alphabet. We add that the numbers of cars from 2001 to 2009 have a digital sign from 1 to 9, respectively.
VIN code location
The VIN of the vehicle is duplicated several times on the body of the vehicle. First of all, it can be seen under the windshield on the left side in a special "window". Depending on the manufacturer, it can be repeated under the luggage compartment trim, on the driver's door pillar, under the hood on a special nameplate, under the fenders, under the interior floor trim. The numbers and signs of the code must match.
Hijackers, as a rule, interrupt not all numbers and code signs, changing only those that are easy to interrupt - C to 0, C to G, J to 9, etc., since it is quite difficult for them to imitate a VIN completely stamped in the factory ... In addition, they do not change it on all body elements, they manage only in the most prominent places.
Therefore, when you study where this automobile concern indicates the VIN code, and carefully check the numbers in the TCP, on the body, on the nameplate, under the glass. This will protect you from buying a stolen car, or a "hodgepodge" assembled from several broken cars. The last option is also dangerous because the elements of the broken car can be deformed, which will invariably come to light during operation.
Be careful when buying a car, try to have the most accurate information on it. This will help you avoid mistakes in the selection of spare parts and protect you from unpleasant surprises.
Based on international standards, each car is assigned a special VIN identification code. This abbreviation stands for Vehicle Identification Number (translated from English - vehicle identification number). The set of letters and numbers for the car is unique. Based on these data, a number of characteristics of the vehicle are determined, including the year of production. The identification code is indicated on the car itself, duplicated in the documents (registration certificate, technical passport). Each character in the code is an indicator of specific information.
Why define this data?
When buying a new car in a showroom, it is worth remembering that the year of purchase is not the year of vehicle manufacture, however, the values differ minimally. Buying a used car is a more risky thing, the owner will not always provide reliable data on the age of the car. If a potential buyer is able to determine the exact year of production, and it will differ from the declared one, then there will be a good reason for bargaining. The year of issue is important when crossing the Russian border, since the amount of customs duty depends on this indicator. For vehicles under 3 years old, it is significantly less than for older vehicles.
When insuring (both compulsory and optional) the car pays great attention to age, the amount of regular insurance payments depends on it. It is important to know exactly the year of manufacture of the car and when passing the technical inspection. The law provides that cars under 3 years old are exempt from mandatory technical inspection (the year of manufacture is taken into account, not the purchase). The insurance company does not require a diagnostic card of the technical inspection if the car left the assembly line less than three years ago. The VIN code is used to determine the exact year of vehicle production.
Inspection instructions
When inspecting a car, a potential buyer can ask for documents on the vehicle and see the VIN code. If this is not possible, then they are looking for a plate under the hood, bumper, on the transverse frame. VIN consists of an alphanumeric sequence (letters - Latin, numbers - Arabic). The symbols I, O, Q, U, Z are not used in composing the code, since their spelling is similar to numbers. To determine the year in which the vehicle rolled off the assembly line, you need:
- Find the identification code (in the documents, on the plate).
- Determine which character is in the 10th place of the code. This mark is an indicator of the year of manufacture.
- Compare the found sign with a specific year.
Cars produced in 2001-2009 have a corresponding digital designation. For example, a 2001 car has the number 1 in the tenth position of the code; for cars in 2002 - number 2, etc. From 1980 to 2000, the marking was made on the basis of the Latin alphabet, excluding characters similar to numbers. For example, if the car was produced in 1980, then the letter A is in the tenth place of the VIN-code; for a vehicle of release 1981 - the letter B, etc. Starting from 2010, the alphabetical marking began to be repeated, so the letter A will also be on the 2010 car. It is difficult to determine the release date more precisely; there is no clear indication of the month in the code. It is customary to start the automobile year in July, so the calendar indicators do not fully correspond to the automobile ones. The year of manufacture is also indicated on the windshield if it has not been changed. Mercedes manufacturers duplicate the year of manufacture on the steering unit - under the rubber pad that covers the signal button. For many foreign-made cars, the release date is written on the seat belt fasteners.
Question - " how to find out the exact release date of a car»Arises not only in ordinary buyers choosing a vehicle for themselves. This question is quite widespread and worries dealers to a greater extent.
The fact is that the manufacturer does not always indicate the exact date in the accompanying documents. There are cases that in the accompanying documents the manufacturer noted only the month of release of the vehicle. And he kept silent about the year.
Solution to this problem
The first step to finding out the release date of a car is to search for a car in the database by its identification number. But do not forget that even this kind of procedure may not provide the desired information. The fact is that often, through this method, a person will sooner find out the release date of a particular car model, but not the release date of a particular vehicle.
Date of issue of cars produced abroad
As for cars produced abroad, things are much better here. In order to find out the year of production of a foreign car, its owner or buyer, just go to customs... Indeed, in the customs office, this information is stored for many years.
But if the above methods still did not help you, there is one more way out.
Carry out technical expertise for the vehicle
But do not forget that this procedure is recommended to be carried out in institutions that have all the necessary licenses.
Likewise, when buying a car, there is a way to determine the year of its release.
When buying a car without specifying its release date, the company inspects the components, and the first from which is the engine. If the date of its manufacture was not found on the engine, the company proceeds to a thorough examination of the surfaces of other parts. After all, at least for some detail, there will be a year of its manufacture.
But this method also has its pitfalls.... The main one from which, is, the date of manufacture of a certain part may differ significantly from the date of manufacture of the car itself. Often times, such differences are seen in supported machines.
Thanks to this, oh, it takes several dates from the components and compares them. So that you can determine the approximate release date of the car.
Production date designations on European cars
As for the cars from Europe, things are much better with them. The release date of the vehicle, you can see on seat belts, side windows or on shock absorbers... In addition, the date on all components must be the same.
If, however, you notice inconsistencies on the side windows, you should ask the owner what caused the replacement of the glasses. Perhaps the car happened in an accident.
Some vehicle manufacturers hide the date of manufacture on plastic parts such as headlight housings, fan blades, diffusers or on the ignition switch.
Please note that all dates must match, and the designation itself has the form of two circles superimposed one on one.
In addition, if the date of a certain part does not coincide with the date of other parts, to a greater extent, it has already been replaced by the owner of the car.
If the release date of the car was not indicated in the documents, as well as was not found when inspecting the vehicle components, it is worth looking for this kind of designation in the form of stickers. The manufacturer often hides such stickers in the car interior and under the hood.
There are individual manufacturers who distinguished themselves by the storage location of such a sticker, and hid it in the trunk.
After you have found all the dates and numbering - compare them not only with each other, but also with the documents for the car... If the data does not match, it is not recommended to buy such a car.
In addition, if the buyer is unable to find the information he needs on his own, or is not sure that it is safe to buy a car. You should seek help from friends who have experience in this area, or use the help of an expert.
Be careful when buying a car!
If there is even the slightest doubt that the number stickers are not from this car or they are absent altogether, it is strongly discouraged to buy such a car. Since he, ninety-nine percent, was obtained in an illegal way and is a subject for scammers to earn money.
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