year of manufacture

[da SLUG man]

ok, my 1997 surf... i'm pretty much certain now that it's a 1996.
what do i do?

ways of telling... that website posted says march 1996
it only has 8 body mounts where the 1997> has 10
the seatbelt labels say 1996

i'm gonna go do a BIMTA check as i've had a few suspicions but didn't really care about the milage, will this tell me the actual year of manufacture?

[da SLUG man]

i'm not too bothered about the actual year, apart from coming to re sell it, service parts, and obviously i payed the price of a newer car!

[andy]

Matt

Try doing a vehicle check with this mob,it might be more reliable than that list.

http://www.usaveauto.co.uk/

[hoops]

I'm not sure.... are we getting too fixed with year of manufacture against year of registration? Is that the car or the chassis date anyway.

If a car was built in Nov 03 then shipped to the UK and registered in Feb 04 does that make it a 03 or an 04?

How about if it was a brand new model / desig,n same scenario though released in Feb 04 - you would call it an 04 not 03 as the manufacturer has to get his stock ready prior to sales and launch.

Just to add some confusion - with the seat belts again is that date of manufacture or installation.

Most manufactures work on a 'just in time' scenario, they will take delivery of stock when they are just about to run out. The actual parts manufacturer (generally someone else) is the one who keeps stock.

I don't think the will answer anything but thouhg may help to explain the discrepancies.

Personally I would go for the year of first registration.

I've got a lovely Ford T on a '53 plate!!

[Healewis]

The seat belts will tell you the date of manufacture, the log book will tell you the year of regestration.

[Rob]

3rd Gens came out as a '96 model car. Mine was built in nov/dec '95. Most parts on a vehicle with dates stamped on them are generally 1-6 months older than when the car was actually put together.

[Hilux]

Age

3rd Gens came out as a '96 model car. Mine was built in nov/dec '95. Most parts on a vehicle with dates stamped on them are generally 1-6 months older than when the car was actually put together.

COULD NOT HAVE EXPLAINED IT BETTER MYSELF.