VIN Code and Model Year

Lknightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:02
Last edited 09/03/2018 - 09:20 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I thought I'd get the opinion of the masses especially those who have a great understanding of vehicles, ISO Quality 3779, 3780 and how insurance company work on technical/minor details. This may help raise awareness for inexperienced new car buyers like myself and others.

I bought a new car early last year (Ford Ranger) which I was told it was a Model Year (MY) 2017. Build Date and Compliance Date are in Nov 2016 and Dec 2016. When I purchased my car insurance, for it, I have provided details that this is a 2017 model. The vehicle itself does come with the 2017 features. Paper work from sales contract does note its a 2017 Ranger model.

Here's where the issue I have with the vehicle itself. For some reason Ford has decided to put two dashes in the MY badge on the car which was dodgy. I start to feel a bit suspicious when renewing my vehicle insurance and I thought I did some self education on the VIN Number of the vehicle.

According to the ISO 3779 which is the international standard for vehicle identification number, the 10th digit on this is the model year of the vehicle. Mine in this case is G, and in accordance to the ISO 3779, and Wikipedia this means that the Model Year (MY) of this vehicle is 2016. Correct me if I am wrong, but the 10th character doesn't refer to manufactured/build date and the actual model year. So if my vehicle is a 2017 model, it should note H.

This worries me in situation if I do total and crash the car (touch wood if that would ever happen), my insurance may void my claim as I provided the wrong details. If they were to refer to the VIN Code, they would say this car is a 2016 model and not 2017.

I have written to the dealership and they insisted its a MY 2017, but for a well known and established vehicle brand, they should have compliance to the ISO 9001 and this shows that they do not comply with international standards.

Apart from that, I will potentially lose value as I paid a 2017 model, but the buyer with knowledge on VIN number could argue that I am selling him a 2016 model. I wondering if this is a potential lawsuit and fine basically for Ford as I was being mislead about this vehicle being an actual 2017 model. I am now suspicious that this is a recondition 2016 model to turn into a 2017 model.

From the ACCC -

"Buying a car

Sellers and manufacturers must not mislead you about a vehicle’s make, price, quality, fuel consumption or performance. The car must be of acceptable quality, fit for the purpose you explained to the seller and match descriptions and the demonstration model."

Automotive

Comments

  • maybeamacy on 09/03/2018 - 09:08

    Which month was it built in?

    • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:13

      It's built in November 2016 with Compliance date of December 2016.

      • Baysew on 09/03/2018 - 09:17
        +1

        What is the year does your registration details state?

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:22

          Can't seem to find this detail on the REGO, but I thought I did a due diligence and bought a comprehensive car report from Equifax. It does state MY 17.

          But this is just a detail only keyed in by someone being supplied information from the dealer. If you follow the ISO code, then wouldn't it be a 2016 model then?

        • Baysew on 09/03/2018 - 09:26
          +1

          @knightlc: Maybe this will help Model Year

          The model year and the actual calendar year of production rarely coincide.

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:32

          @Baysew:

          Yeah I read that, which said "An automotive model year is categorically defined by the 10th digit of the vehicle identification number (VIN)". So I believe my 10th character if MY17 holds through means it should state H and not the letter G.

        • HeWhoKnows on 16/03/2018 - 19:35

          @knightlc:
          "Can't seem to find this detail on the REGO"

          Take a closer look. Its ALWAYS on the registration papers

  • singlemalt72 on 09/03/2018 - 09:25
    +2

    Build year, compliance year and MY are not necessarily the same.

    Car manufacturers have this oddity of releasing the next year model (MYxx) in MYxx-1 this means that as of a certain date of manufacture, the model has all the features of next years model.

    I have the same thing with a MY10 VW Passat that was built in Nov 09 (compliance 02/10)

    It is something you need to look out for when buying cars. Although it should make little difference if a model was built in Dec15 or Jan 16 it does make a difference in the minds of some people.

    • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:37

      Would you mind checking if the 10th character in the VIN Code for your vehicle states the letter A for you and not the number 9? If it states 9 then I guess its standard industry practice, if it's A, then mine would be a MY16 in this case.

      • singlemalt72 on 09/03/2018 - 11:33

        Letter A for 2009

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 13:48

          Letter A is 2010 if you refer to the table in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_identification_number
          number 9 is 2009.

          And that's the issue I am having with mine, mine is letter G for 2016, while being told its an MY2017. Note that the 10th character is the model year but shouldn't be the manufactured year as the plate/badge has a build year stamped on the vehicle.

          So your vehicle is telling me even though it's produced in 2009, it's for a 2010 model thus build in 2009 but with a 2010 model year.

          While mine is a 2016 model based on VIN and produced in 2016.

        • singlemalt72 on 09/03/2018 - 17:18

          Odd, I thought it may relate to compliance date, but I assume the VIN is affixed at the factory. Or does compliance occur before shipping?

        • knightlc on 13/03/2018 - 10:23

          @singlemalt72:

          I am not sure, but just a thought here, I may be wrong, but I thought if they have a new design for the new years model but batched in earlier (ie 2017 models made in 2016), they'd update their VIN to identify these changes so they stand out differently to the models produced for the previous year. I am only assuming if one completely wrecks the car till nothing left and the only thing left is the VIN code.

          Otherwise how does one tell which model year the vehicle they are purchasing?

  • Ocker on 09/03/2018 - 09:27

    When selling the car the "model year" is somewhat irrelevant, it is the "build date" that matters. In your case you have a 2016 car

    • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:33

      Hmmm. Okay, so does that mean that when I give information to my insurer, i should state this is a 2016 car? The 2016 Ford Ranger does have a different spec to the 2017 Ford Ranger.

      • Ocker on 09/03/2018 - 09:38
        +3

        Correct, you should declare it as being a 2016 car.
        As an aside, that is why dealers are having "run-out" sales of 2017 plated cars at the moment. Regardless of the fact they may well be called a 2018 model year, technically the car is already 1 year old. Hence they will offer a few thousand discount compared to the same spec. vehicle that has a 2018 build date.
        Note also that even the compliance date is immaterial when determining the year of the car.

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:43

          Thanks Ocker! I will update this with my insurance company so I am adequately covered.

  • JimmyF on 09/03/2018 - 09:42
    +2

    I bought a new car early last year (Ford Ranger) which I was told it was a Model Year (MY) 2017. Build Date and Compliance Date are in Nov 2016 and Dec 2016

    This is correct.

    The MY2017 models are normally on sale from around Oct/Nov the year before. So you can get a MY2017 built in Nov 2016.

    my insurance may void my claim as I provided the wrong details. If they were to refer to the VIN Code, they would say this car is a 2016 model and not 2017.

    For insurance, you need to select the year built as 2016, and then select MY2017 as the vehicle.

    Again the MY2017 is not when it was built, its the feature/design/specification set etc.

    As your SA, I did a RAA quote for you to show how it works for your 2016 built MY2017 ranger

    https://postimg.org/image/les7dg4pn/

    • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:46

      So in this case would the 10th character of the VIN code be a letter G or a letter H under the model year encoding section of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_identification_number

      • JimmyF on 09/03/2018 - 09:50

        Whats yours saying then 2016 or 2017?

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:52

          It has the letter G, therefore its 2016 in accordance to the wiki reference.

        • JimmyF on 09/03/2018 - 09:56
          +1

          @knightlc: Which is correct, as that is the year it was built in.

          Think of the MY as the model, so just like phones then

          MY2017 = iPhone 8 = Samsung S8

          The year it was built, is the year it was built ;)

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 10:00
          +1

          @JimmyF:

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_year

          "An automotive model year is categorically defined by the 10th digit of the vehicle identification number (VIN)."

          Thought the 10th character of the VIN Number was the model year and not build year, this is why I had it confused and made me start researching into this. Thanks!

        • JimmyF on 09/03/2018 - 10:07
          +1

          @knightlc: You're stressing too much about it. Change your insurance so its a year 2016 MY2017 model and you'll be right.

          It is what it is now and you're not going to be selling anytime soon as you say, so it doesn't really matter if it was built in 2016 or 2017 as by the time you sell it, its basically going to be worth the same. Cars NEVER hold value and only trend downwards…….

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 10:11
          +1

          @JimmyF:

          Haha yes. I am quite the worry wart and just want to be sure I am adequately covered.

        • JimmyF on 09/03/2018 - 10:12
          +1

          @knightlc: Change your insurance so its a year 2016 MY2017 model and you'll be right. Don't stress anymore and enjoy the ranger by taking it for a drive.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/03/2018 - 09:44
    +1

    Manufacturers bring out next years model before the end of the calendar year.
    As far as Ford is concerned you bought the 2017 model.
    However, as far as buying, selling and insurance is concerned - you bought a 2016 vehicle.

    Its a bit of a con but everyone benefits from it.
    You should have a gotten a good discount on the purchase price and all the extras of the 2017 model but will take a hit when you sell it.

    • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 09:48

      I guess I have been scammed and should have asked for a better discount. Thanks for the info though. I don't see myself selling it anytime soon. It's a great car. Just worried about the insurance bit of it. Everyone here has been helpful. Appreciate it!

      Re:EDIT - Goes back to the other question, so would the 10th character of the VIN Code state letter H if this is a MY17 model and not the letter G (which is what I have). 10th character of VIN Code reflects Model Year and not manufactured/build year if I am not mistaken.

      • [Deactivated] on 09/03/2018 - 10:08
        +1

        The vin denotes the build date/year. MY is the trim and styling and entertainment etc packages in the vehicle. MY can also be an incremental upgrade, Holden did some commodore mid MY upgrades like MY16.5. Once again, the VIN gives you the info on the year the car WAS BUILT, it doesn’t care about leather steering wheel or iPod auto. Your insurance company should have the option of selecting build 2016, and then a further field for RANGER MY17 AUTO GX blah blah.

      • Seraphin7 on 09/03/2018 - 10:10
        +1

        Were you "scammed" or did you "not negotiate as good a deal as you might have"?

        • knightlc on 09/03/2018 - 10:13
          +1

          Haha, I wish I had better knowledge of this so I could negotiate a better deal. First car purchase, so I was going in blind without researching much. But feedback from all have been really helpful which will help me in purchasing new cars in the future!

  • mic180802 on 10/03/2018 - 08:23
    +1

    Hello OP

    Congrats on the purchase. Funny enough I bought one too. The 2017 run out pricing was discounted significantly so it made sense if I wanted one it was probably the time to buy. My XLT is 2017 build and 2018 compliance. I'll check the VIN code for you.. My 10th character is H in the VIN, which is 2017 according to the wiki page. In my eyes it's a 2017 with tweaks in features to be closer to that of 2018 model features. When it comes time to sell it would be a 2017 model, not a 2018.

    Dealer kept referring to mine as a 2018, and i kept correcting him. He didn't like me doing that so much, but technically its true ;)

    I've got nearly 1300km on mine so far.

    Did you get a manual or automatic? Is it a double cab?

    • knightlc on 13/03/2018 - 10:19

      I got an automatic and double cab. So yeah, I had the same scenario and just checking if you had a similar issue. I am in the impression that my vehicle is a 2016, but with some technicality they've called it a 2017 model and branded it as a MY2017. But this may be misleading buyers as I doubt all new buyers will educate themselves on how VIN number works.

  • Candour on 10/03/2018 - 12:49
    +1

    write to john cadogan who will give you the right info.

  • MrBear on 10/03/2018 - 13:43
    +1

    The automakers have (at least) two variations of the 17 character VIN.

    North American automakers denote the 10th character as the Model Year. Note: Model Year is not necessarily the calendar year it was built. Often 2017 MY vehicles will be built from August or September 2016 onwards. This all depends on things like the factory setup, marketing, part supply, etc.

    Japanese and other asian countries, Australian and European makers follow the rule of the 10th and 11th characters of the VIN are generally the build year and month. In Australia, we are now following the marketing hype of Model Year, which follows the same types of rules as North America.

    • knightlc on 13/03/2018 - 10:37

      That's helpful. Just saw and checked that the car is manufactured in Asia though, wonder if they didn't apply the same rule about Model Year on the VIN.

      • MrBear on 14/03/2018 - 13:09

        They are most likely not North American style formatting.

  • HeWhoKnows on 10/03/2018 - 21:44
    +1

    Both are correct.
    MY17 cars start being built at the end of 2016 otherwise there would be no stock of MY 2017 cars till at least late February.
    Whats more important is the start and end of the model run, but not so much the year.
    Since you can sometimes buy an old model at a discounted price because its been superceded by the new model. This can happen at any time of the year and both the old model and new model can be manufactured in the same year!
    Compliance plate date is simply when the vehicle entered the country.
    This could have been a bargaining point for you when you purchased the vehicle, not that the dealer had to bow and agree, but none the less a good reason to ask for a discount. But too late now.

    • knightlc on 13/03/2018 - 10:43

      Thanks for that. It's just the technicality with the VIN that I am having issue with. Like MrBear's post, Australia now following hype of Model Year for VIN if this is correct. So I thought this should reflect H on the 10th character of my VIN.

      • HeWhoKnows on 16/03/2018 - 19:30
        +1

        Well you cant change the VIN number. Like I said. Could have been used as a bargaining point.
        The Owners manual should state the model YEAR as should your registration and should be used as the reference point.

  • jason101 on 11/03/2018 - 12:34
    +1

    This is a common car dealer scam for the uninitiated - if you walk in and buy a new car that is in stock, always ask the manufacture date of the vehicle. I once purchased a new car in June and they tried to supply me with a car made the previous year although it was a model year of the year I was buying in. I just asked nicely if they had any made in the same year, which they did and I drove away happy, no big deal - but it could have been a different story if I hadn't asked.

    My view is that if you thought you were buying a 2017 you weren't, on resale this will be an issue in relation to the maximum price you can attain which I am sure the dealer will point out to you when you roll back in there and try and trade the car for a new one.

    • knightlc on 13/03/2018 - 10:45

      So far it's a great vehicle to drive, let's hope I don't have to trade it in till many years in the future.

      I could consider myself a noob in this case in buying vehicles, but definitely lessons learnt for future vehicle purchases.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/03/2018 - 18:42

    Forget the VIN. On one of the under bonnet plates (can't remember which one) there is a date stamp. My Pajero has 01/17 build. according to the stamp.

  • IC on 14/03/2018 - 08:20

    Just tagging on a similar topic, also dealing with an insurance issue.

    So I've just bought a 2018 model car, but the build is 08/2017 and compliance is 10/2017.

    The 10th letter of the VIN says 'J', wiki says it's 2018.

    Don't know which way I should go, 2017 or 2018?

    • knightlc on 14/03/2018 - 08:55

      Speaking to FORD and NEVDIS, apparently not all manufacturer's follow the ISO 3779 requirements. So thus the 10th Digit doesn't necessarily mean Model Year though for all manufacturers which is a pain. But like what JimmyF says, in your case, you'd have to inform your insurance company that it's build in 2017 but the 2018 model. You won't want them to replace your vehicle with a 2017 model.

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