van age id

[jd6310]

Hi have herd it is possible to age a van by its vin,is this correct?
if so how is it done?????

cheers

 

[Damian]

Yes it is.
For UK vans the 10th digit is the age identifier.

 

[jd6310]

thanks could be usefull in our search...

 

[kenf]

my van is registered on the 1-1-2006 and the 10th digit is a 6 so its very accrate !!

 

[Brum1]

my van is registered on the 1-1-2006 and the 10th digit is a 6 so its very accrate !!

Remember that caravan years start in September, so your '6' really means from Sep 05 to Aug 06

 

[kenf]

my van is registered on the 1-1-2006 and the 10th digit is a 6 so its very accrate !!

Remember that caravan years start in September, so your '6' really means from Sep 05 to Aug 06

aah !!! not sure if its the same but on cars over here we in ni we talk about the year 06/07/08 etc but on the mainlsand yous talk about what plate its on )06/07/08 yous dont care what year it is but what plate its on ????

 

[602]

Hi,

If you have a pre-VIN caravan, try logging onto www.preloved.co.uk, and navigate to the FORUMS - CARAVANS. One of the discussions is about the age of caravans, with an expert telling you the year of manufacture from the chassis number.

The same website is better know for its free advertising, with lots of room for text, and a free photograph.

602

 

[Lutz]

aah !!! not sure if its the same but on cars over here we in ni we talk about the year 06/07/08 etc but on the mainlsand yous talk about what plate its on )06/07/08 yous dont care what year it is but what plate its on ????

The date code in the VIN number refers to model year, not build year, hence Brum's correct comment. This applies to all vehicles, whether cars or caravans.

 

[kenf]

aah !!! not sure if its the same but on cars over here we in ni we talk about the year 06/07/08 etc but on the mainlsand yous talk about what plate its on )06/07/08 yous dont care what year it is but what plate its on ????

The date code in the VIN number refers to model year, not build year, hence Brum's correct comment. This applies to all vehicles, whether cars or caravans.

so in fact the question at the start of this topic wasnt answered correctly then ? (he asked if it was possible to age a van from the vin , when in fact you are only able to age the model and the year could be out by a year (06 or 07)

 

[Lutz]

Depends what you mean by age. If you mean from the day the caravan was sold to its first owner you could be out by a lot more than one year as it could have been standing at the dealer for a considerable time before it was sold. I would have thought that model year would be more appropriate as it gives a better indication of the body style and equipment.

 

[Dustydog]

Apart from the VIN No there are other areas that may help identify the caravans time of manufacture.
eg amongst all the paper work you may find the manufacturers signed declaration that all the 240 volt mains electrical systems are in order and compliant with the then regulations. That document will be dated.
Check the dates on the tyres and the gas flexible hoses. If they are original, they can give a possible indication of the age.
A lot of the appliances will have serial numbers which may be traceable with the manufacturer.

 

[Steve L]

Well I'm afraid it's not quite as straight forward as that. Yes you can date your van by some of the parts fitted like fridge, cooker, heater and cassette loo, as all these carry an individual manufacturers serial number and often carry the month/year of manufacture.

I came across an anomilyin 2008, when looking for my current van. We saw a Fleetwood Nocturne Sonata at P Briggs in Gloucester for what seemed a very good 10K price tag for a new van. Apparently, it had been "lost in production" at Fleetwood for 2 years !! PB were selling it as a discounted new van because it had no previous owner but was 2 years old. It also carried a 2008 VIN plate and had no CRIS regestration. The caravan was actually made in 2006.

Needless to say, apart from the interior looking like a swedish sauna, we gave it a wide berth and went for our then 3year old Abbey Frestyle that was onsale at their cinderford depot. It may well of been a genuine van and someone would love it, but as it was being sold with a 2 year reduced guarantee, we felt there were too many chances of there being trouble with insurance and resale value to take the risk.
Another thing crossed my mind. That was, if you can get "cut and shut" or "cloned" cars and also re-registered total loss cars carying a new regestration consumate with the year of manufacture, then the same is possable for a caravan. You only have to look at flea bay to find blank trailer ID & weight plates available for the price of a pint.

 

[Damian]

I supose I should have made my reply clerarer.
Caravans are . like cars, built to a year model, but the actual building of that year model starts in September through to August the following year, so a 2006 van may have been actually assembled in 2005 but will be date coded 2006, and will be marketed as a 2006 van.

Many of the cars you buy may have been sitting in a storage area for a long time before being registered, but will be dated from registration date.

The notion of changing identifiers is only posssible to an extent, that is the plate attached to the van body.
Thee are many other things which would need to be changed to completely change the identity of the van, to start with, all the windows, then the chassis stamping and the built in security chip in each van.
Just changing the windows would be prohibitive for the "quick sale".

 

[RogerL]

There is a difference between cars and caravans, as far as second-hand values go.
A caravan will always be valued based on the model year it was built in, regardless of how many months/years it sits unsold after being built.
A car will be valued primarily on the registration date but also take into account any significant specification changes which cars built later have got.
Some of the Geist models were unsold for up to 4 years after being built but Geist UK insisted on full price even though owners will only get the real value when they trade-in. All the Geists sold by Elite Caravans were sold as "unused", with their year of build clearly identified and priced down accordingly.