Quote:
Originally Posted by flg8r90
I'm currently looking into purchasing a "2005" 4.8is but the production date is 10/2004 that I verified from the vin. The seller states the car is an 05 but is it really ? I understand that in order to have a car in January 2005 a car must be produced in 2004, but a whole two months ? Were there any changes from the 04 to 05 models ? What year do you value the vehicle ?
Thanks
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Ditto what ha already been said. The build date and model year can be different and for early build models...usually is.
Historically in the USA, September has traditionally been the debut month for the new model year...but sometimes new model year rollouts can occur early. For example, due to OBD II mandates...the e39 debuted in the USA as a 1997 model year...but they hit the market in June/1996. The 2000 e39 model year also started early in June 1999 as BMW dumped the 3 speed auto tranny 528i models...then upgraded the 528 auto trannys to the 5 speed STEPTRONIC starting in September 1999. The 1999 e38 model year was truncated & ran from 9/98-4/99...with the 2000 e38 model year starting in April 1999.
To accomodate the difference in build date versus official model year...the US DOT requires that the
10th digit of the VIN indicate the official model year. So if you are suspicious...you can always check that digit to know what the official model year is regardless of build date. See chart below: