Wheel Talk

Have you ever had to fill out a form for a body shop or other car maintenance facility and found yourself unsure of your vehicle's production date? It may be asked as either “production date” or “model year” but these are usually the same.

Every factory original vehicle has a unique 'Vehicle Identification Number', also called the VIN. This is more simply known as the serial number. Your car's serial number may appear as an array of random numbers and letters, but each number and letter actually has a very important significance. This information can be found in a few different places. The easiest way to locate this number is to stand outside of your car on the driver's side and look at the corner of the dashboard, the area where it meets the windshield. Your other option is to open up the driver's side door and look near the latch that keeps the door closed. At both of these locations you will notice a sticker with seventeen numbers and letters.

Once you have located your serial number you are ready to figure out your factory original car's production date. If you count ten characters from the left, you will notice a capital letter OR a number. This letter or number is representative of a year. If you have a general idea of your stock car's model year this next step will be simple.

Note: VIN's do not include the letters I (i), O (o), Q (q), U (u) or Z (z), or the number 0, so that they will not be confused with similar looking numbers/letters.