Puzzle over model-year as shown in VIN number.

[Haliotis]

My posts in the topic “Off to France - 2017 CHR” drifted into needing the model year of my car, and I thought my findings needed a new topic.

The model year is found by referring to the 10th character in the 17-character VIN number - (ref www.all data.com).   Here it states that this character can be a letter or a number.   The following characters are not used, as follows:                  I(i), O(o), Q(q), U(u), Z(z), and 0(zero).

The chart on this website reads as follows:  1980(A) - 2000(Y).   2001(1) - 2009(9).   2010(A) - 2029(X).

So, my 25/06/2021-registered BP21YUK must have the model year as either 2020, 2021 or 2022; so “L”, “M”, or “N” - depending on where Toyota start their model year.  But my VIN number’s 10th character is actually 0(zero), which is a non-used character.  This has been checked for accuracy by referring to the V5C and the VIN number actually displayed at the corner of the windscreen.   I am assuming that it must almost certainly be 2021 model year, but I still cannot confirm this by consulting the VIN number.

[flash22]

IIRC Vin year is only for the USA

Your car is a 2021 registered

what are your 9th and 11th digits ? X and R ?? If so, that has a build date of 10/2020

 

[philip42h]

According to the DVLA your car is:

• Vehicle make    TOYOTA
• Date of first registration    June 2021
• Year of manufacture    2021
• Cylinder capacity    1798 cc
• CO₂ emissions    111 g/km
• Fuel type    HYBRID ELECTRIC
• Euro status    EURO 6 AP

Did the selling dealer supply a Certificate of Conformity? That would give an actual date of manufacture (to the exact day).

[Haliotis]

Hi Bob.  In my VIN, the 9th character is a ‘3’ and the 11th character is an ‘R’.   According to the website I am using, the 9th digit is called the “check digit” and is used to validate the authenticity of the VIN code.  It also says that it uses some complex maths to do this, but doesn’t take it any further.    The 11th digit shows at which manufacturing plant the car was made.

From Wikibooks, I printed off “Vehicle Identification Numbers(VIN codes)/World Manufacturer Identifier(WMI). This consists of 18 pages in the form of lists and, quite honestly, I find them so complicated that I have given up trying to delve deeper.

Regarding your observation that the car could have been built in 10/2020, does a span of over 6 months to first registration seem plausible?  For me, the most puzzling thing is the zero for the 10th digit, when the charts all show this not to be a used digit.

[Haliotis]

35 minutes ago, philip42h said:

 

Did the selling dealer supply a Certificate of Conformity? That would give an actual date of manufacture (to the exact day).

Hi Philip.  I agree with your details ref DVLA.

Does a dealer have to give a Certificate of Conformity for the exact date of manufacture for a used vehicle?  I did get quite a bit of paperwork but can’t remember seeing such a certificate.  Will look through it to check.

Hi again, Philip.   Have just ploughed through the paperwork.  It all relates to details of purchase of my Toyota, and the trade-in of my previous vehicle.  No certificate as you describe.

[philip42h]

1 minute ago, Haliotis said:

Hi Philip.  I agree with your details ref DVLA.

Does a dealer have to give a Certificate of Conformity for the exact date of manufacture for a used vehicle?  I did get quite a bit of paperwork but can’t remember seeing such a certificate.  Will look through it to check.

In simple terms, I don't know! 🙂

The dealer MUST supply a Certificate of Conformity with a new car - and your car would have had one when new. It is flagged as an "important document" so should be passed on with the car when sold on. Whether or not it is is another question entirely ...

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, flash22 said:

IIRC Vin year is only for the USA

... and you'll go blind trying to decode a Toyota UK VIN using the published information ... 😉

Mine certainly does not obey the published format rules ...

[Roy124]

9 minutes ago, philip42h said:

In simple terms, I don't know! 🙂

The dealer MUST supply a Certificate of Conformity with a new car - and your car would have had one when new. It is flagged as an "important document" so should be passed on with the car when sold on. Whether or not it is is another question entirely ...

I got one from the dealer when I got my YX on September.  I did not get one from them when I got my Yaris in March 2020.  It came later from Toyota UK.

[Big_D]

@philip42h is correct. A new car must be supplied with a Certificate of Conformity from the dealer. However, this is not always passed on to the new owner when the car is purchase as a used car. 

When I bought my first C-HR, a 2020 Dynamic, it had no Certificate of Conformity, despite being bought from a Toyota Dealer. I applied to Toyota GB and provided proof that I had bought it from a Dealer and they supplied the Certificate free of charge. 

If your used car was bought from a Toyota Dealer, you should have no problems. If you bought is from a non Toyota dealer or privately, you will need to pay a fee of £75.00

Have a look here for more details

https://www.toyota.co.uk/owners/vehicle-information/certificates-of-conformity

I have also attached a link to the  PDF application form

https://www.toyota.co.uk/content/dam/toyota/nmsc/united-kingdom/owners/vehicle-information/certificates-of-conformity/Certificate_of_Conformity_Application_Form_tcm-3157-1598759.pdf

[Haliotis]

Hi Philip.  I did not pass over any certificate for my trade-in (VW Caravelle) and I don’t recall any such certificate when I bought it from Leicester Volkswagen - it was one of their demo cars.

I did own a couple of VW Tourans from new - sold one private and one as trade-in.   If I did receive Certificates of Conformity when I bought these two cars, I don’t remember it, but I did not pass over (and wasn’t asked for) any such certificates.

[philip42h]

5 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Hi Philip.  I did not pass over any certificate for my trade-in (VW Caravelle) and I don’t recall any such certificate when I bought it from Leicester Volkswagen - it was one of their demo cars.

I did own a couple of VW Tourans from new - sold one private and one as trade-in.   If I did receive Certificates of Conformity when I bought these two cars, I don’t remember it, but I did not pass over (and wasn’t asked for) any such certificates.

Yup - CoCs came in in 2019 / 2020 IIRC. As with Roy above, the CoC for my 2020 RAV came through the post a week or so after I picked it up. The original owner of your C-HR will have either received a CoC directly from the dealer or through the post a while later.

Your VWs probably predate the introduction of CoCs and I rather doubt that dealers are yet in the habit of requesting CoCs with trade-ins.

[Haliotis]

“Your VW’s Probably predate the introduction of CoC’s ……” - ref Philip.

That’s right.  My last vehicle before my 2021 C-HR was registered in 2017.  But, as my C-HR was sold to me as a used vehicle, would such a CoC really be of any practical use to me, apart from being part of the FSH?

When I traded-in my last Touran and my Caravelle, although they were serviced under a VW plan, I kept all my  printed FSH and any other paperwork relating to the vehicle, yet the dealerships were not interested in these files.

[philip42h]

48 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

“Your VW’s Probably predate the introduction of CoC’s ……” - ref Philip.

That’s right.  My last vehicle before my 2021 C-HR was registered in 2017.  But, as my C-HR was sold to me as a used vehicle, would such a CoC really be of any practical use to me, apart from being part of the FSH?

When I traded-in my last Touran and my Caravelle, although they were serviced under a VW plan, I kept all my  printed FSH and any other paperwork relating to the vehicle, yet the dealerships were not interested in these files.

A service history, full or otherwise, will typically include the name and address of the owner paying for the service. Data privacy laws preclude this information being passed on to the next owner and dealers would have to 'redact' all such information. So they prefer not to pass on the service history at all and no longer ask us for it. Times move on ...

As per the links supplied earlier in this thread, the Certificate of Conformity is required when:

• Exporting your vehicle abroad.
• Returning to the UK with a vehicle previously registered in the UK 
• Importing your vehicle from the Channel Islands or Northern Ireland 
• Registering a vehicle for a Congestion Charge discount or residential permit 
• Applying for a taxi or private hire driving licence or permit 
• Provide evidence of the exhaust emissions standards of the vehicle

If you are not planning on doing any of these things, you won't need a CoC - but the next owner might ...

Oh, and among other things it includes the exact date of manufacture ... 😉

[Haliotis]

Philip, your comment about the taxi/private hire brought something to mind.  A few weeks ago, in one day we saw two C-HRs with private hire plates.  Didn’t think they were suitable for taxi work.  Our son says he has also seen one - could be one of those we saw.

There are only the two of us, so rear seats will be rarely used, if ever.   Personally, if there had been more than two regularly riding in the car, I would have gone for something a little more roomy than a C-HR.

I did think that the C-HR would feel tight on elbow room after the Caravelle, but strangely this isn’t the case.

[asinrutee]

My GR Sport was ist registered on the 16th May 2022, I have the certificate of conformity which shows the date of manufacture as 6th Feb 2022, these date make sense.

However the 10th digit of my vin is zero and the 9th and 11th are X and R so flash 22's date of build theory don't work for my car

[FROSTYBALLS]

On 7/29/2023 at 8:08 PM, Haliotis said:

A few weeks ago, in one day we saw two C-HRs with private hire plates.  Didn’t think they were suitable for taxi work.

Private hire regulations can vary between Local Authorities. Certainly in Birmingham some companies are using the C-HR as taxis.

[Haliotis]

1 hour ago, asinrutee said:

 

However the 10th digit of my vin is zero and the 9th and 11th are X and R so flash 22's date of build theory don't work for my car

My June 2021 C-HR has “30R” for the 9th, 10th, and 11th digits, so doesn’t work for my car either.

These days, there are so many variation by model, plus further variation due to buying new options that, unless you really need to find out what your car has, or has not, it is probably just best to shrug and carry on.