For all recalls on our website, we always declare the range of manufacturing months or manufacturing year of the given model or model year. It contains only the first registration, which is the date the dealer first registered the vehicle. And this can easily differ from the production date by up to two years. So how can you find out the year of your car?
The identification data of motor vehicles insurance are required by law because vehicles, as movable property registered in the national registers of the various countries, must be able to be unequivocally identified. These are the chassis number and the engine number, of which the first is the fundamental one as it uniquely identifies the object and therefore there cannot be two vehicles with the same identification. Their property must be attributable to a person, a company, and therefore the liability deriving from the circulation and use of these attributable to them.
You can’t read much more from the vehicle’s VIN code without the help of a dealer. With some cars, you could at least identify the model year (see table below). With others (Mercedes, BMW, Renault, Dacia, Fiat, ) not even that.
Year of production vs model year vs first registration
The model year may or may not be the year the car was produced makers usually produce a model year file from the middle of the previous year to the middle of the current year. For example, a manufactured car in December 2017 will already be the model year 2018. However, it could travel around the world, stay in dealerships for several months, and may not be registered until January 2019. And this information will be entered in the documents of the vehicle as to the date of first registration. So, is it a 2019, 2018, or 2017 car? Although the year 2019 will be included in the documents, the vehicle may be affected by an announced recall for cars produced in 2017 and also for the model year 2018. Knowing the exact production date is fine not only for recalls but also for buying a new or used car. Why pay more for an older car in fact?
How to know the month and year of production?
To request this information, you can contact any authorized dealer of a specific brand – see our instructions here. According to the VIN code, the technician will search for your car in the system and tell you the date he left the production line. Being already in contact with the dealer, you should also ask if there is a pending recall, TSB, or service campaign for your machine.
* The VIN Code is a unique identification number that is stamped on the car body. It consists of a unique combination of 17 letters and numbers. The most common place to find a VIN is near the lower edge of the windshield on the driver’s side.
If you would like to know more about the production date of a particular car, (e.g. actual mileage, potential traffic damage, crash, odometer rollback, repairs, etc.), we suggest going to HPI-Check.
