How do you figure out the year the car was made by the number plate?

Question

B reg..V reg.. ??? what does it all mean?

this applies to UK i believe

Answer 1

For the UK
You cannot figure out the year it was made, only the year in which it was first registered, or an earlier year (No car may a plate issued later than it was built)
Use list below for letters.
Since then change in format has changed.
Firstly two letters used by quite large areas of the country, then two digits giving a clear indication of the year, dividing the year into two parts. Registrations for the year from April to September have the last two digits of the year (e.g. 05 for 2005) and then from October to the following April the 0 changes to 5 (e.g. 55 for Oct 2005 to March 2006)
The situation is confused by the issue of "personalised" number plates, but same basic rules apply.
Incidentally earliest registrations were one or two letters and up to 4 digits. Each letter combination was allocated to a local registration office, which gave a good clue to the part of the country it came from. Then a prefix letter was added to give three letters and up to three digits.
When these ran out in some places the figures and letters were reversed, and four digits plus two letters also used. This lasted only a short time before the 1963 A suffix.

Fascinating. Much more could be said.

Answer 2

You read the VIN number, either on the driver's side front on the dash, or on the B pillar of the doors, or off the registration or title information.

You then read the 10th digit.
If it's a number, it is 200 that number. A 5 would be a 2005.
If it's a letter, A is 1980 B is 1981, and it goes from there. EXCEPT there is no "O" or "Q". So Y would be a 2000 model.

The first digit would tell you where the vehicle was made. 1 = US, 2 = Canada, 3 = Mexico, 4 = US, K is Korea, J is Japan...

Answer 3

YOu only need the Vehicle Identification Number. Call your local dealer, (or service department at the dealer) and ask them. the VIN will tell them the date the car was made.