What actual year is my var / van ?

Q - "Hi, will these brake pads fit my 2017 Golf"

A - "No, because your car is actually a 2016 Model year"

Q - "What, I've been ripped off, wait until I get it back to the dealer"

Sooooooo, here's the three dates and why they matter.

1 - Build date: This is the date production was complete and your new pride & joy rolled off the production line

2 - Model Year: this is a trickier one to explain. The Model Year i.e. a 2020 model year car, might have been built in 2019, 2020 or even 2021. This is normally because a set of specifications for a set period of time (a build year) are set, meaning 2019 models might have LED as standard for example. This is probably the 'loosest' of the dates of interest.

3 - First registration date: this is the date that the licence plates were given to the vehicle and thus, the registration date.

For most parts and accessory enquiries, we use number 1, the build date (build completion date), the car parts catalogues mostly use this and all we need, literally all we need is the reg' number for UK cars, or the VIN number for almost any other car in the entire world.

We look up the parts using that, meaning you're not stuck on your driveway, in the rain, in the dark, trying to fit brake pads to your 2017 Golf, that are actually for a 2017 Golf. Confused ? Leave it to us.

Here's a quick video that kind of explains it for Austratian models, but the concept is Global.

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