Serial Number/production sequence question

[rrspikemarty]

Hello all,

First wanted to note this is a brilliant board/forum!. I am amzed at the wisdom and experience posted here. I'm in the hunt for a used 911 (shooting for 2004 C4S manual, coupe, NA) and over the last 2 weeks have spent more time on this board than with my wife. I consider this as good preparation for when i actually get the car; wife will be used to not seeing me around much!

OK, real reason for post - i'd like to get a 'late' 2004 911, and I'm assuming i can safely use the last 4 digits of VIN to judge the relative manufacture date? Any flaw in this approach, or is it usually just as effective/simpler to check the first title event date from the carfax report and assume the date will track consistently with the relative manufacturer date?

I guess this could end up being a lengthy post/response if there are serial number ranges to avoid/be aware of, due to tweaks in production or known issues. Or if it is known that certain vehicles have huge time delays between date of manufacture and date the car was first sold/registered in US.

So i think my questions boil down to

a) Can anyone comment or point me to existing threads/links that might have info on this?.

b) Where could i find the serial number range for total MY2004 production for US distribution of this p car

c) Is the serial number in the VIN truly chronological (i.e. in all cases , a higher serial number for given model year means a later manufacture date)?

Great thanks to anyone who can point me in the right direction!

rrspike

[Loren]

The production date is printed on a sticker on the left hand door of every Porsche.

Enter the VIN in Scouser's Porsche VIN decoder here.

From his VIN help:

"The 10th character position in the VIN and the 1st in the VIS is used to specify the manufacture year. The European Union does not require that a year code is implemented although Porsche does use it.

In the USA and Canada however, the year code is compulsory. The year codes start at 1971 and use characters 1 through 9 up to 1979. From 1980 onwards the characters start at A and continue to Y for year 2000. 2001 restarts again at 1 to 9 until 2009 and then A through Z is for years 2019 onwards. Note that characters I, O, Q, U, and Z are not used. Note also, that Porsche did not introduce the 17 digit VIN code on their vehicles until 1980.

It is important to understand that the manufacture year is in fact the year the vehicle was released from the factory and not necessarily the actual year of manufacture. For example, a 997 model 911 assembled in December of 2006 will likely show a manufacture year of 2007."

[rrspikemarty]

The production date is printed on a sticker on the left hand door of every Porsche.

Enter the VIN in Scouser's Porsche VIN decoder here.

From his VIN help:

"The 10th character position in the VIN and the 1st in the VIS is used to specify the manufacture year. The European Union does not require that a year code is implemented although Porsche does use it.

In the USA and Canada however, the year code is compulsory. The year codes start at 1971 and use characters 1 through 9 up to 1979. From 1980 onwards the characters start at A and continue to Y for year 2000. 2001 restarts again at 1 to 9 until 2009 and then A through Z is for years 2019 onwards. Note that characters I, O, Q, U, and Z are not used. Note also, that Porsche did not introduce the 17 digit VIN code on their vehicles until 1980.

It is important to understand that the manufacture year is in fact the year the vehicle was released from the factory and not necessarily the actual year of manufacture. For example, a 997 model 911 assembled in December of 2006 will likely show a manufacture year of 2007."

Loren,

Thanks. I ran VIN through Scouser's tool. Nice. No problem reading what the year code is... I was wondering if gurus out there have any wisdom on specific serial numbers/sequences (from my original post)..?

rrspikemarty

[whs]

Thanks. I ran VIN through Scouser's tool. Nice. No problem reading what the year code is... I was wondering if gurus out there have any wisdom on specific serial numbers/sequences (from my original post)..?

rrspikemarty

Are asking how you can tell the production date versus just the model year? If so, as Loren noted there is a sticker on the left side door that states the month and year of production. Mine for example is a '99 model year and the production date is 5/98. I don't think there is anything in the VIN that designates the production date only model year.

Will

[perryinva]

A crude but easy way would be to take the total numbers of the model year produced and divide that by the number of months produced. I don't have the data here with me, but it's all in the new 996 Companion book by Adrian Strether. It should get you within a month or 2. Personally, I think you're wasting your time looking for a late 2004, as that is about the LEAST important detail as compared to mileage, condidtion, use, options, color, etc, etc, etc. There is nothing to be gained by getting a higher mileage newer 2004 over a less mileage older 2004. They are all out of warranty. Just my $0.02..take it for what it's worth.

[rrspikemarty]

A crude but easy way would be to take the total numbers of the model year produced and divide that by the number of months produced. I don't have the data here with me, but it's all in the new 996 Companion book by Adrian Strether. It should get you within a month or 2. Personally, I think you're wasting your time looking for a late 2004, as that is about the LEAST important detail as compared to mileage, condidtion, use, options, color, etc, etc, etc. There is nothing to be gained by getting a higher mileage newer 2004 over a less mileage older 2004. They are all out of warranty. Just my $0.02..take it for what it's worth.

Sounds like Strether's book has the info. Thanks. Also, I'm glad you made that $0.02 point. Being new to this game, I was probably getting a bit too anal. My thinking was that later 2004 models might have had minor engineering improvements (over earlier 2004s) in things like seals. Guess not, huh?

[PeterC4]

There were only 23.218 996 models produced in 2003-2004 (that's all models from the C2 to the C4S) . Porsche's fiscal year runs from August 1 to July 31. From my experience, unless a C4S was specifically ordered by a customer, most C4S units were well equipped when inventoried by the dealer. I think you'll find that given the production was so low, there were always minor improvements in each model year. Personally, I think the C4S was one of the nicest looking 996 series cars and compared to my 2000 C4 there is a world of difference. The C4S feels far more planted, solid etc.