The situation
VRM look ups can display different vehicle dates: registration date and date of manufacture/production date. When searching for a part, it’s important to use the correct date to ensure you are selecting the right part to fit your application.
Understanding the date system
Identifying the correct part
The same also applies when identifying a part that has a date break. You must ensure you use the date of manufacture, not the registration date.
The registration of a vehicle, can often happen months before or after the given production date or model year, which can result in registration and manufacture years being different. A vehicle registered in 2000 can be built to 2001 spec. This in turn can then lead to the incorrect selection of parts, IF the incorrect date has been used to identify the part.