VIN number check? Advertised as 2006 but VIN suggests 2003?

fender22 · 5th October 2010, 09:20 PM

Hi all. Just about ready to buy what is advertised as a 2006 Defender this week with a vin number of SALLDHM573V051841. I just did a check on one of the European decoder sites and according to it the VIN is a 2003 vehicle?
I've done a revs on the vehicle so the VIN is the correct number. Could it be possible it was made in 2003 and took LR until 2006 to sell it?

Can anyone offer any advice here ta?

**p38arover** · 5th October 2010, 09:24 PM

Even if it was sold in 2006, it's still a 2003 or 2004 model and the resale value (when you sell it) will reflect that.

What does the compliance plate or build plate say?

**Scouse** · 5th October 2010, 09:58 PM

Defenders of that era don't have build plates.
The compliance plate date will give you an idea of how long it was sitting around before going to the dealer.
If it's a strange colour, it may have sat at the dealership for a while but they wouldn't have held onto it for more than a few months, 6 at the most.

**p38arover** · 5th October 2010, 10:15 PM

What's your reading of the VIN, Scott?

**Scouse** · 6th October 2010, 08:11 AM

Well, it is a 2003MY & it was sold as new in 2006

.

It is a late 2003 build & an early 2006 sale but even so, it spent a long time in the PrixCar yard.

I would imagine the dealer bought it very cheap as an incentive to move it on though.

**spudboy** · 6th October 2010, 08:39 AM

I'd say it's a 2003 build but it either got stuck in a warehouse before coming to Australia, or it sat unsold at a dealer here for a long time. There were a couple in Adelaide like that when I was looking for a Defender.

**Scouse** · 6th October 2010, 08:51 AM

It arrived in Australia in October 2003.

**p38arover** · 6th October 2010, 08:54 AM

If that's the case, as far as any buyer is concerned, it's a 2003 model. Anyone who buys it now will find, when they go to sell it to a dealer, the dealer will say it's 2003 model and trade it accordingly.

**Scouse** · 6th October 2010, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by p38arover

the dealer will say it's 2003 model and trade it accordingly.

And when the dealer sells it, it will be a 'Sold 2006' car & priced accordingly

.

**Bigbjorn** · 6th October 2010, 09:38 AM

There was legal action in the early 1970's taken by a group of Jeep buyers against Annand and Thompson. They had bought old stock Jeeps, some three years old, as "new" cars and were seeking compensation for loss of value as their purchases say in 1969 of 1966 manufacture Jeeps were regarded by the trade as 1966 models, not 1969 when purchased as "new". The court was asked to determine what was a "new" car and had the buyers suffered a loss by buying "old" cars without being informed by Annand & Thompson of the true year model, and was there deliberate deception by A & T.

What came out, and anyone in the trade could have told them, was that the new vehicle trade regarded vehicles as new if not previously sold at retail, or registered for use as a demonstrator or company car. The used vehicle trade of course, identifies by year model. No compliance plates then.

I don't recall the outcome.

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