As you know, each vehicle has certain distinctive features that make it unique. In accordance with the ICO standard series 3779-1983, which, by the way, is not mandatory, car manufacturers may not indicate a specific assembly location for the car. Moreover, on some automobile concerns the year of manufacture of the vehicle is not indicated in any way. In this case, various signs, symbols and conventions are used that are incomprehensible to ordinary people.

When buying a car in a reputable car dealership, many people think that it has just rolled off the assembly line, but this is not always the case. In order not to breed unnecessary controversy here, it should be noted that the year of manufacture by the body number (according to the so-called Vin-code) is the easiest to determine. You can get all the information on vin when checking a car on our website or by checking it yourself. O self verification read more in our article!

If the manufacturer bothers to indicate a specific date of manufacture of the vehicle, then in most cases this does not mean anything. For example, oddly enough, but at the plant they can knock out not a calendar, but a “model” year. In turn, they differ significantly from each other. In a "pure" form, the following auto giants do not indicate the date of production of cars: BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Honda. How is a model year different from a calendar year? It's simple: releasing the next car from the assembly line, the automaker assigns it the VIN code that corresponds to this model range. This is done so that the manufacturer has some time left to transport the car, sell it, re-register, etc.

Today, many motorists need to decipher the vin and get useful information about their vehicle as a result. This is especially important if you are planning to buy a used car, learning about which as much as possible is paramount. Suppose, suddenly, she is listed as stolen?

It should be noted that this standard (ICO 3779-1983) was once developed by the Americans (SAE Association of Engineers), who laid part of the traditions of North American manufacturers in its basis. For example, at summer car shows in car dealerships, models with the next year of manufacture were shown. Going on sale immediately, they were in some way "guests from the future."

What else gives the "standard" to the consumer and the manufacturer? Firstly, he acquires a completely new, “fresh” car, which is eloquently evidenced by the year of issue according to vin, deciphered by a specialist. If you are going to sell your car in the future, a potential buyer will certainly turn his attention to this circumstance, which will be to your advantage. Secondly, as for the automaker, it manages to sell almost all of its cars before the start of the new calendar year. As you can imagine, this is important for large businesses.

It should be noted that not all manufacturers indicate the date of manufacture of the vehicle, which should be assigned in accordance with the actual calendar or "model" year. For example, the notorious AvtoVAZ sometimes refers the release of its cars not to the current model date, but to the next one. There is only one reason for these circumstances: all actions take place under pressure from the Ministry of Tax Collection. As for the Ukrainian automaker ZAZ, the situation there is approximately the same. In general, each company dictates its own terms, with which the consumer either agrees or not. Whatever it is, it is quite possible to determine the year of manufacture of a car with an accuracy of one year using the VIN code. As you probably already guessed, you just need to be aware of some of the nuances.

VIN is an elementary identification number that is stamped on the body of each modern machine. It consists of 17 alphanumeric characters, which, if properly decoded, can give the owner a lot useful information. The code is used for identification in 24 countries of the world, including Russia.

So, how to determine the year of manufacture of a car by body number? By deciphering the first 3 digits of the VIN code, you can find out at which plant the car was produced. The next 4 digits identify the type and make of the vehicle. The ninth character usually remains empty, but the tenth and in some cases the eleventh positions just allow you to determine the date of manufacture of the car.

At American factories, the symbol responsible for the year of manufacture is located in the 11th place of the VIN code. Renault, Volvo, Rover, Isuzu, Opel, Saab, VAZ, Porsche, Volkswagen and others famous cars the tenth character regulates the production date. By the way, Fords of the European assembly can be safely attributed to the "Americans", because there the VIN code is built according to similar principles (the year is in the 11th position, and the month is in the 12th).

Year of issue	Designation	Year of issue	Designation

As can be seen from the table, the designation of the year of manufacture is repeated every 30 years. This is quite enough, because. the rest of the VIN will still be different - in fact, only in the CIS, some models can last on the assembly line for a very long time.

Knowing the VIN code of a particular vehicle, you can find out not only the year of its release, but also the model, body color, transmission type, chassis and much more. But you should not sacredly rely on the symbols that are stamped under the hood of your car - some motorists, during the purchase, encounter stolen cars whose VIN code has been changed. Of course, only an experienced specialist can draw such conclusions by checking it using one of the popular methods.

Determine the year and date of issue Japanese cars perhaps knowing the number and series of the car body. Determination of the exact date of issue is an important criterion for the accurate calculation of customs duties.

By VIN code you can determine the year of manufacture of a European car. Any European car has a VIN code - this is the vehicle identification number. It is a 17-digit alphanumeric code that encodes almost all information about the car from the country and manufacturer's name to the body type and year of manufacture of the vehicle.
The structure of the VIN code is formed in accordance with the international standard ISO 3779, adopted in February 1977 and describing the format of the VIN code. Simply put - which number or letter is responsible for which information.
The year of manufacture of the car in the VIN code corresponds to a certain letter or number of the Latin alphabet. Model years from 1971 to 1979 and from 2001 to 2009 are indicated by the last digit of the calendar year. For example, a car manufactured in 2001 corresponds to the number "1", 2002 - "2", etc.
The year of manufacture of the car in most brands (Audi, VW, Chrysler, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Opel, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Rover, Saab, Volvo) is in place 10 of the VIN code. Other manufacturers use other positions to indicate the year of manufacture (for example, Ford - 11th).
Interestingly, in accordance with the international standard ISO 3779, the model year for manufacturers begins on July 1 of the current year and ends on June 30 of the next year. So if the car was released, say, July 1, 1993, then the VIN code will contain the letter R, indicating that the car was released in 1994.

Year designation in the VIN code

Year of issue	Code letter/number	Year of issue	Code letter/number
1980	A	1996	T
1981	B	1997	V
1982	C	1998	W
1983	D	1999	X
1984	E	2000	Y
1985	F	2001	1
1986	G	2002	2
1987	H	2003	3
1988	J	2004	4
1989	K	2005	5
1990	L	2006	6
1991	M	2007	7
1992	N	2008	8
1993	P	2009	9
1994	R	2010	A
1995	S	2011	B

Determination of the year of manufacture of the car by VIN number

VIN of vehicles manufactured in countries that have adopted the international standard is a combination of Arabic numerals and capital letters of the Latin alphabet:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H J K L M N P R S T U V W X Y Z
The letters I, O and Q are not used due to the similarity with the numbers 0 and 1
The VIN consists of three independent parts:
World Manufacturers Identification (WMI) - world manufacturer index;
Vehicle Description Section (VDI) - descriptive part;
Vehicle Identification Section (VIS) is a distinctive part.
WMI - is a code assigned to the manufacturer in order to identify him. The code consists of three characters. The first character is a number or letter that represents the geographic region (multiple characters can be assigned to a geographic region if necessary). The second character is a number or letter representing a country within a geographic region. Multiple characters can be assigned to a country if needed (for example, US manufacturer codes can start with the numbers 1,4,5). The third character is a letter or number assigned by a national organization to a particular vehicle manufacturer. The number "9" as the third character must be used by a manufacturer producing less than 500 vehicles per year.
VDS is the second VIN section and it consists of six characters describing the properties of the car. The symbols themselves, the sequence of their location and their meaning are determined by the manufacturer. Usually used to indicate the type of car, its design, body types, engine, drive design, engine displacement, steering wheel position (left or right), etc., which is important when deciding on the authenticity of the VIN of the vehicle. The manufacturer has the right to fill in unused positions with symbols chosen at his own discretion (most often "0" or "Z"). For example, Vehicle VIN"AUDI" -WAUZZZ89ZHA123456.
Of particular note is the ninth character in VIN markings. According to ISO 3779, the ninth VIN symbol assigned for the check digit (Check Digit - 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and the letter X corresponds to the number 10). This standard is adhered to by all firms producing cars for the North American market. These rules are defined by USC 49 CFR Part 565, §6(c) and are the same for all vehicle manufacturers in the US. The check digit is calculated according to a special algorithm when assigning a number at the factory. It is obtained by arithmetic manipulation of VIN symbols. Checking the correctness of the VIN allows you to determine the broken number with a high degree of reliability, since, as a rule, "similar" numbers and letters are faked, and in this case it is difficult to fit the new VIN to the verification check digit. However, some European firms, in particular BMW, adhere to ISO and European cars. So, for example, the VIN of a "BMW" car is WBAHC11010BA23456. Check Digit 1. Checking the correctness of this VIN showed that the VIN has been changed. This VIN will have a check digit of 9 - (WBAHC11090BA23456).
VIS is the third section of the VIN and consists of eight characters, with the last four characters of this section must be numbers. If the manufacturer wishes to include the model year designation in the VIS, it is recommended that the model year designation be placed in the first position (the tenth character of the VIN is usually a letter or number) . The concept of a model year differs from a calendar year by shifting the beginning of the year forward by three to five months (for different manufacturers). This is done so that the manufactured cars have the marking of the current year (at the time of sale). The beginning of the model year is set differently by each manufacturer, but more often, October 1 of the current year is taken as the starting point for the new (next) model year. So, for example, the manufacturer Volkswagen cars Bora, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Passat May 01, 2002 started production of cars 2003 model year.
The eleventh character of the VIN (usually) is the number or letter reserved for the assembly plant this vehicle. So, for example, "AUDI" cars have VIN -WAUZZZ89ZHA123456. The symbol "H" indicates the model year of the car (1987), and the symbol "A", the manufacturer (Ingolstadt).
Some manufacturers, for example, "FORD" (European), indicate the calendar year in place of the eleventh character, and the month of manufacture of the car in place of the twelfth character.
The year of manufacture for some manufacturers that have not adopted the international standard may be indicated in other places. It should also be noted that many manufacturers of minibuses and trucks assign these vehicles a VIN structure similar to cars. At the same time, car manufacturers of those countries that have not adopted the international standard in any edition use VIN with fewer characters. So, for example, "MITSUBISHI PAJERO" cars, assembled in the United Arab Emirates, have a VIN of fourteen characters - DONV120SJ00477.
Some manufacturers, such as "BMW", indicate the manufacturer in place of the eleventh character of the VIN, and in the place of the twelfth character the lineup.
With the exception of the last four positions, the VIN has a digital structure indicating the serial production number of the vehicle. So, for example, the VIN of a "BMW" car is WBAHC11090BA234569. The symbol "B" indicates the manufacturer (Dingolfing), and the symbol "A", the model range.
VIN must be in one or two rows while maintaining the same spacing between characters. In the case of placing the VIN in two rows, only separation between each other is allowed, each of the above parts of the VIN (WMI, VDS, VIS). It is allowed to separate these parts with a separator character that differs from the numbers and letters used in the designations. Such a symbol (horizontal bar, asterisk, or company symbol) is often placed before and after the VIN or part of it that identifies the vehicle.
At the end of this section, we will decode the VIN HONDA car ACCORD - 1HGCG2250YA600529.
1 - Geographical region - USA
H - Vehicle manufacturer - HONDA
G - Vehicle type - A car
CG225 - Model - ACCORD EX-V6/2DR CP/4A/2 AIR BAGS
0 - Check digit * - Does not match, required -1
Y - Model year - 2000
A- assembly plant- MARYSVILLE, OH (USA)
600529 - Serial production number of the car.
*As you can see, the car is made in the USA (the first character of the VIN is the number 1. This is the geographic region of the USA), and the check digit "0" does not match. The reason is as follows. The manufacturer for cars manufactured for the European market does not use the ninth character of the VIN as a check digit, but puts the character "0". Only a specialist with extensive practical experience can figure out such a feature of the VIN marking.

Before you draw up a sales contract for a used car, you need to check its year of manufacture. This will make sure the seller is honest before buying a car, and not buy a pig in a poke. You can check the production date when buying a car online, using the AvtoVin website or by marking glasses and components (seat belts, shock absorber struts, wiring casing, etc.).

Find out the year of manufacture by VIN (VIN) code

VIN of the car - its special identification number, it indicates the year of production and information about the manufacturer. The mark with the year of manufacture is in tenth place in the line of the VIN code. It is worth noting that the entire stage of auto production has several methods for marking a car.

Important To avoid fraud when buying a car, use the online service "AutoVin". One VIN code or state. number, or body number, in a couple of minutes, your attention will be presented with data from: traffic police, EAISTO, RSA, FCS, banks, NBKI, EAS RF, FNP, taxi registries, car dealers, insurance companies. To prevent wasted time in litigation, unpleasant situations, you should carefully consider the choice of car.

Few car manufacturers use their own procedure for applying a VIN code to a car. Thus, the American manufacturer Ford places data on the release date of its cars in eleventh and twelfth place, reporting the year and month. Japanese manufacturers do not use the VIN code at all. It can also be confusing that automakers don't use a standard calendar layout for the most part. They provide information about model year release of the car, starting not from January, but from July. You need to know the subtleties when deciding to independently check the true year of production. Judging from the above, it follows that you yourself understand the nuances VIN decoding code is not easy.

We look at the marking of components

Spare parts and units, of which, in fact, the car consists, also have stamps.

Manufacturers put a stamp where the date is indicated by a number indicating the digit of the calendar year. For example, the glass has a stamp of 4, which means that the machine was manufactured in 1994, 2004 or 2014. If the model was produced from 1996 to 2006, then the number "4" means 2004 release. The month is also indicated in the stamp on the glasses. Usually it is indicated by Latin letters, dots or stripes.

For example, four dots and the number 8 indicate April 98, 2008, or 2018. The format may also come across - 7 ABC or vice versa. In this case, the release date is January 97, 2007, or 2017. The month is determined only by the first letter in the string, regardless of position in the string.

There is also an exception to these rules. Fiat labels its cars a little differently, starting January not with the letter "A", but with "B". Thus, the calendar is shifted by a letter, and December ends not with "M", but with "N".

Important The presence of identical stamps will allow the buyer to understand whether the car got into a traffic accident. If the marking of the glasses diverges, you need to check with the seller the reason for the replacement.

Seat belts.

Stamping details the day of manufacture, month and year. It's on the bottom of the label. The same brand is applied to the fixers.

Hood and trunk shock absorbers

At the end of the last century, manufacturers began to label these elements of transport as well. There are two types of branding. They are deciphered easily, it is enough to know the meaning of the embossed numbers:

• For example, the numbers 26/99 are indicated. The first number is a consecutive number indicating the week of the year (out of 52), followed by the year of manufacture;
• 220/99 - serial day and year of manufacture.

The muffler is marked in the same way.

Important If you find units and assemblies that do not match the year of manufacture, which is indicated in the TCP, you should think again whether you need to purchase this vehicle. The owner may not tell you the real reason for replacing them. Cheating is fraught with serious breakdowns and problems with finding spare parts that match the production date.

Of course, everyone who wants to buy a car wants it not to be too old. The younger your car, the longer it will last and, accordingly, vice versa, the older, the less. You can determine the date of manufacture and release of your car if you look at the entry that is affixed to the technical passport for this car or try to decipher the identification number (body number).

It is not at all difficult to establish the number of a car's production by the markings that are applied to the car's window panes. It displays the name of the manufacturer, compliance standards, indicates the month and year of glass manufacture. 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 is placed before the beginning of the designation of the year. This - simplest way how to determine the month of manufacture of the car.

It happens that a fraction symbol is used in the date of manufacture of glass. Each of the inclined fractions replaces five months and appears in glass markings that have been issued since May. In general, in a car you can find a lot of 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. You also need to know the exact month the car was manufactured, which is very important for crossing the border.

The release date can be set by the numbers of the main components of the car and its parts: gearbox, engine, chassis. There is also a proprietary methodology that allows you to determine the release date, it was developed by the vehicle manufacturers themselves. There are also rules: at the month of issue exact date this is the fifteenth, and if you could only find out the year of issue, then the date is basically taken on 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 using known machine part numbers. In his competence, how to find out the month of manufacture of the car. There are also certain situations when it is impossible to determine the date of manufacture of the car and then you need to turn to a specialized examination, which is carried out in customs laboratories or licensed organizations.

All articles

Before entering into a DKP (purchase and sale agreement) for a used car, it is important to find out the date of manufacture of the car. This procedure will help identify fraudulent attempts on the part of the vehicle seller and draw a conclusion about the rationality of the intended acquisition. Today, Autocode will talk about the ways in which you can determine when a car was produced.

What the VIN tells you

Most vehicles have a VIN - a special identification code consisting of 17 characters (numbers and letters). It contains information about the manufacturer and release date of the car. Most often, the year of manufacture of the vehicle is located on the 10th position of the VIN code. It is important to know that in different periods the methods of marking the date of production of the vehicle changed.

Including:

• from 1980 to 2000 and, since 2010, the letters of the Latin alphabet from A to Y are used for this, with the exception of the letters I, O, Q, U and Z
• from 1971 to 1979 and from 2001 to 2009. the date of issue of the machines had a digital designation.

Please note that the VIN contains only the last digit in the year number. For example, the Latin A denotes cars of both 1980 and 2010, the number 4 - 1974 and 2004, etc.

Some automakers use their own labeling system. For example, in the United States on Ford vehicles the date of manufacture of the machine is located on the 11th and 12th positions of the VIN. It also includes the month of production. A vehicles from Japan do not have a VIN at all.

In addition, when checking a car, you need to know that most manufacturers indicate in the VIN code information about the so-called model year of the car. It does not begin on January 1, but on July 1. Therefore, the VIN code data may not correspond to the calendar that is familiar to us.

From the foregoing, it is clear that it is not so easy to find out the year of manufacture of a car by VIN on your own. Therefore, it is better to use a proven Internet resource to check the vehicle.

How to find out the year of manufacture of a car online

A simple and reliable way to find out the year of manufacture by wine or state. car number - use the services of the Autocode service. Enter VIN or state number registration plate machines in a special search form. Within a few minutes, the system will issue a report with information about the year of manufacture of the car and other useful information. In particular about:

• the number of vehicle owners;
• run;
• the presence of restrictions (pledge, arrest, etc.) and other data important for making a purchase decision.

The cost of a detailed report is 349 rubles.

How to find out the year of manufacture of the machine by marking components

Various parts and mechanisms of the car also carry information about the date of manufacture. Let's see how to get this information.

Glass

You can find out the month and year of manufacture of the car by the stamps on the windows. Auto glass manufacturers use different ways branding. The year of manufacture is indicated by one digit, which corresponds to the last digit of the calendar year (similar to VIN). Thus, the number "6" can mean 1996, 2006, and 2016. Next, you need to be guided by logic. For example, if you know that this model The vehicle was produced from 1998 to 2010. - respectively, the number "6" will mean 2006 release.

The month is indicated by Latin letters (from A to M in alphabetical order) or combinations of dots and (or) slashes.

To illustrate, here are a few examples:

• ….6 or 6…. - April 1996, 2006 or 2016;
• 9 ABC or ABC 9 - January 1989, 1999 or 2009 (only the first letter of three counts).

There are exceptions to the rules. For example, on the windows of Fiat cars, January is denoted by the letter "B". Accordingly, the notation system is shifted by one position, and December is already branded not with “M”, but with “N”.

When determining the date of manufacture of a car, it is important to check all the windows. If you find that the markings of individual elements do not match, ask the seller if the vehicle has been in an accident that caused the replacement of one or more glasses.

The production date of the machine is stamped on a label affixed to the bottom of each seat belt. Belt clips have a similar branding. The designations are simple: day, month and year of issue. Therefore, it will be easy to understand them.

Shock absorbers on the hood and trunk

Since the mid-90s of the 20th century, on cars from Europe, these nodes have also been marked, by which it is easy to determine when the car was produced. The year of issue is indicated in two ways:

• 25/98 (where the first digit is the serial number of the week from 1 to 52, and the second is the year);
• 318/95 (where the first digit is the serial number of the day from 1 to 365, and the second is the year).

Similar markings can be applied to the terminals battery as well as the muffler.

Data mismatch on individual nodes with the date of production indicated in the technical passport of the vehicle - a good reason to think about the advisability of acquiring it. Often, buyers are faced with the fact that "native" parts, for one reason or another, have been replaced with new ones. It is impossible to know the exact date of manufacture of a car from them. Therefore, we still recommend using the All-Russian service for verification.