New Jeep

[Fen]

Whoa guys; storm in a teacup!

There are two dates associated with Euro and American vehicles (I have no idea about Jap because I have no interest in them): Model year and year of manufacture. That's why people talk about MY'03 etc.

As an example my Mini was an '05 model which was obvious as it had all the facelift features of the '05 (different lights and dashboard being visible, close ratio 'box being important) yet it clearly said "Build Date 28 September 2004" on the sticker. It was registered both in the UK and here as a 2004, and I sold it as a "2004 facelift" although as far as BMW/Mini were concerned it was a 2005 model. Clearly if the car is physically on the road in 2004 then it has to be registered as a 2004.

That's the key; the manufacturer can call the model any year they like, and kust like magazine publishers release the May issue early in April so the car makers release the next year's model early. I guess it's to allow the sales literature to be made and to give them time to get enough stock available so buyers can actually get vehicles, as well as to let all the previous model year vehicles clear out of the showrooms.

There is another scenario - in the UK at least, but I bet it's the same here. Say a car is shipped to a dealer today; it's a 2009 built 2009 model, so no confusion there. Let's say however it sits in the showroom to attract in punters by looking all sexy and shiny, but in the current economic times people prefer the lower-spec model and nobody buys it until February 2010, which is when it gets registered. It will be registered as a 2010 car (in the UK anyway), which is as it should be. It's still a new car even though it has sat on the shelf for some time since it was built, because nobody has used it, and we consider things to be be new not because they have just been made but because they have never been used. It's still a 2009 model though and for 2010 there may be a whole new model from the ground up with the same name.

Bottom line the model year is important because it gives everyone a way to understand what specifications and options a given vehicle might have, but it's also important to know when it was registered for all manner of reasons. The dates can be different however as the only link is that registration date can't be earlier than build date.

[Flash2004]

Just in case you're not already confused, and the story above is quite clear actually, I'll tell you another story:

We recently bought a crusher in Japan as a 2003 model. It was in fact a European built machine and stamped as 1999 year of manufacture, but was not sold new in Japan until 2003 according to Hitachi who sold it back then. We brought it here, advertised it as a 2003 and a foreign company bought it. They'd already paid for it luckily when they came to inspect it and discovered the nameplate reading 1999. A big fight ensued with us arguing as you argue here - year of first registration being valid - and them arguing the way it is in almost every other country in the world, which is based on YOM.

Luckily they'd already paid for it so I won the argument in the end, and they took it to Mongolia, but I wish I could have sent them this thread to read so they might have a better understanding of the "real" world which exists only in NZ.

I use either argument, depending on what suits the occasion (me) best. cheers, Gordon

[TJ]

It only matters when you are trying to buy spares or replacement parts. Manufacturers are more likely to catalogue parts based on the "model" year or by manufacture date (particularly when something cosmetic changed halfway through production lifecyle - like when in 2000 alternator moved up on a Wrangler and ignition went distributorless, but hey they are both still Wrangler TJs running 4.0 litre engines)........