Honda Accord Forums - The DriveAccord community is where Honda Accord 2003+ owners can discuss reviews, service, parts, and share mods. banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

VIN Decode build date

Jump to Latest
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
P

ppalmerjr

· Registered
Joined
·
19 Posts
Reaction score
2
Discussion starter · #1 ·
I've searched and searched and can't find the answer. Hopefully one of the smart people in here can help me :nerd

I'm getting ready to purchase my 2018 1.5 touring but I want to check the build date to determine which dealer I buy from (they all seem to match prices) to get the latest built car. I see in the VIN you can determine the year but is there anyway to determine the actual month that the car was build just from the VIN alone?

Also, is looking for the latest build date the best idea? Any months that I should stay away from?

Thanks in advance for any info!
Have a great 4th everyone!
 
#2 ·
Howdy!

Easier to just open the driver's door and look at one of the three large stickers on the door jamb. It will tell you month/year the car was made, and have the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) printed on it.

The days of decoding month/year of production only through the VIN are long gone.

There were people who made a healthy living doing that....look up Galen Govier and Mopars. I met him once at a Mopar meet in Carlisle, PA, and he was holding court like a KING! All these investors trying to figure out if their '70 Dodge Charger was the last one made....

Here is one Honda made in February of 2004 (2/04):

Image


Generally speaking, the later build dates of the 2018 models have fewer "issues" such as hood alignment or HUD squeaking. Some picked up their cars in December of 2017 and never had a problem, but some picked up last week and have annoyances. These are not "structural" issues, just growing pains of a new model across many models and many makes. If you flip through the forum, you will find similar levels of issues on the first year of the 7th Gen Accord (2003), the 8th Gen (2008), the 9th (2013), and now with the 10th gen (2018).

Consequently, if you look at the LAST production years for a generation of Accord (2007, 2012, 2017) they are "boring" in that there are no issues at all.

There are no months you should avoid.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Oh, yeah I could go to all the dealers and open the door but a little time consuming. I was hoping to just get the VINs online (most dealers do that now) and check before setting foot in the dealer.

I like a seamless transaction (even work out price before arriving to dealer) when I get there.

Thanks!
 
#5 ·
This is all just spitballing but if you are looking at the same model I presume they are built in the same factory. I presume that means the VIN's are going to be the same except for the serial number portion of the VIN number. So I presume that means you look at the last 6 numbers of the VIN and whichever is the highest number is the latest built. No clue if any or all of that is wrong but it's what comes to mind.
 
#6 ·
Any Advantages to Buying a Recently Built Car?

I'm new to these boards, but I keep reading comments that suggest a preference of purchasing cars recently released from the factory vs. a car that was built months ago. Aside from dodging any minor defects that might have been corrected within the first few months of production, what is the benefit of shopping around for the newest car? At this point in the model year, is it 'safe' to purchase any you find on the lot? I assume most from early 2018 are already sold.

My next question is, other than looking at the door sticker, is there any way to tell online, from a VIN, when that vehicle was produced?
 
#7 ·
stickey_mouse said:
My next question is, other than looking at the door sticker, is there any way to tell online, from a VIN, when that vehicle was produced?
Click to expand...
The last 6 digits are the sequence off the production line. Look for cars "in transit" and compare with the same trim (the characters in the middle of the VIN are for differences in engine/trim/etc.) on lot, the cars in transit should have a higher number than ones on lot. I've been tracking 2.0Ts and the sequence for in transits are in the upper 40Ks (i.e. JA048???)
 
#8 ·
LDB415 said:
This is all just spitballing but if you are looking at the same model I presume they are built in the same factory. I presume that means the VIN's are going to be the same except for the serial number portion of the VIN number. So I presume that means you look at the last 6 numbers of the VIN and whichever is the highest number is the latest built. No clue if any or all of that is wrong but it's what comes to mind.
Click to expand...
TazFTW said:
The last 6 digits are the sequence off the production line. Look for cars "in transit" and compare with the same trim (the characters in the middle of the VIN are for differences in engine/trim/etc.) on lot, the cars in transit should have a higher number than ones on lot. I've been tracking 2.0Ts and the sequence for in transits are in the upper 40Ks (i.e. JA048???)
Click to expand...
That doesn't work because you can have two vehicles with different model codes with the same last six digits. Model codes can be assigned to different trim levels and/or powertrain combinations.

For example, a 2017 Honda Ridgeline with a VIN that ends with 007992 was not the 7,992nd 2017 Ridgeline to roll off the assembly line. It was the 7.992nd US AWD model. Another 2017 Ridgeline with a VIN ending in 001843 may be a US FWD model made after the one ending in 007992. When two Ridgelines have VIN's that both end in 013745, you'll see a different model code earlier in the VIN.

This is also the reason why the 5-digit serial number plates in the Civic Type R do not match the last 5 digits of the VIN.
 
#9 ·
How about using carjojo? You can search by VIN, not all of them are in there, but gives you an estimate of how long its been on the dealer's lot, may not work if it was a dealer trade tho.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#10 ·
2019 Accord ?

Any one know if they have started producing 2019 accords yet ?

I have a custom order that has a prod date of 09/10. Any way to find out if that would be 18 or 19 ? If there is a VIN we can find out but can we find out based on the order ref #?

Thanks
 
#11 ·
This is a tricky questions because the 2019 Accords have not been announced yet (as far as I'm aware).

Normally a build date of September would mean a 2019 Accord. September is usually the month that Honda releases the next year model Accords.

However, if you've already settled on a price, then it may be a 2018 Accord because pricing for the 2019 is not available yet. This would also imply that the build/release date of the 2019's is later in the year.

... Just an educated guess.
 
#12 ·
Most likely a 2018. We have heard that 2019 models may not begin assembly until October.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#13 ·
My understanding is dealers have a ton of stock left of 18's. Which is a good thing imo for a GREAT deal. Especially even later towards the end of the year.
 
#17 ·
Take a guess on the build month?

I was browsing a local dealer site looking for a 2018 Accord Touring 2.0T and found they have 6. Without actually visiting the dealer and looking at the sticker on the door jamb, can a reasonable estimate be made as when the build month is based on the VIN? The VIN 1HGCV2F90JA0538xx was the highest S/N VIN they had in stock for the model I'm looking at.
 
#18 ·
There are several ways for the consumer to determine the build date of any car.

1. Physically look at the V.I.N. plate on the car.
2. Call the dealer (usually the Parts Department) with the V.I.N. and they can tell you.
3. Gain access to the manufacturers proprietary web sight (for example, Toyota's Dealer Daily) It helps to know someone at the dealer that can do this.
4. Not sure if Carfax shows a build date but it couldn't hurt to try.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
About this Discussion
18 Replies
17 Participants
Last post:
mtts60
Honda Accord Forums - The DriveAccord community is where Honda Accord 2003+ owners can discuss reviews, service, parts, and share mods.
posts
2.1M
members
146K
Since
2003
Drive Accord forum, a community where Honda Accord owners can discuss reviews, service, parts, and share mods.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
The 8th Generation The 7th Generation The 9th Generation The 10th Generation Audio, Electronics & Lighting