I'm seriously considering getting a 2007 Outlander XLS 4WD, despite my having always following the "never buy a newly redesigned model in its first year" dictum in the past.

So as a compromise to myself, I'd like to ensure that any XLS 4WD I might buy was made at the factory in the last few months and not back in the summer of '06!

Is there any way to tell from the last 5 or 6 digits of the VIN identification number if it is a relatively recent vehicle or whether it is one of the first '07s made?

(As an example of one I looked at today -- the VIN is JA4MT41X67U011948 and the sticker on the driver door's frame shows a November 2006 manufacturer month for a white 2007 Outlander XLS 4WD with luxury package, navigation package, and sun and sound package.)

My major interest is in those last six digits -- how large does the six digit number represented by the last six digits of the VIN need to be to ensure the 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS 4WD rolled off the assembly line during calendar year 2007?

Perhaps someone who special ordered one and recently received it might let me in on what the VIN and month of manufacture were.

Bud H

 

I don't think the 07 Outlanders stay in the lot for very long. They're gone in about a month's time at the most. My dealership has about 7 or 8 Outlanders in the lot when I bought mine. A month after, the only Outlander left is the demo vehicle inside the showroom with all the promo stickers on it. Most 07 Outlanders sold at this time was manufactured in Nov 06.

 

you needent worry. with all of us on here, the only two warranty problems that are affecting almost every single car is the mirror issue, and the wheel bearing.
I know I had some other issues due to the factory ommiting one fastener, and having to have some body work done because of it, but i am chalking that up to a fluke. I have seen, or heard of no one else having that problem, or any other for that matter.
The little truck seems to be real solid,
I like you refuse to buy anything the first year it comes out. However, after driving 4 diffrent outies, and they all drove the same, EXACTLY the same, and everything worked, and felt the same, I was confident at that point.
good luck to you. If you are going to get one tho, you should head rcpax words, and get one while you can, they dont hang around very much. Or to say it another way, since mitsu released the outie, they have seen a 35% jump in sales, soley due to the outie... thats a bunch

 

the exact production date of that VIN is 11/14/2006.
and the car is loaded... it looks like its got everything. Navagation, heated leather, power seats, sunroof, rockford fosgate audio, etc.etc.
the last 6 digits are in fact the serial number, but are not going to really be an accurate representation of anything.

 

It would have to be a fresh build. The dealers cant keep them on the lot. What do you care about problems with it? WARRANTY!!!!!!!! You can extend the warratny to 10 year 100,000 miles. You can also get rim and tire warranty for 5 years. They also give you road side service for 5 years.

 

I'm not sure how you got that detailed information - but thanks.

After searching well over a hundred dealer websites for their inventories, the largest "last six digits" on a VIN for a 2007 Outlander XLS 4WD were from JA4MT41X17U013428 and JA4MT41X37U015911. And there were very few greater than 12,000.

Being curious about how long it might typically take for an Outlander to reach the Chicago/northern Indiana area from Japan - could you check just those two above and see if they were manufactured this calendar year?

Your efforts on this (and other questions I've seen you answered in this forum) are greatly appreciated.

Bud H

 

Just get it...

 

It does not come with an expiry date, and the "freshest" one you can get would probably be 1-2 months old. It takes time to move this stuff from Japan to the US, and I doubt they will skip the long line just to have a "freshly" assembled one get ahead of others. Maybe when Mitsu moves assembly locally in Illinois, then we can get them "hot from the oven". But I doubt it, even American brands build most of their cars in Mexico and Canada.

 

the first VIN had a production date of 11/23/06
the second was 12/12/06.

dont choose your car by production date; It means nothing. Buy the one you want with the price you want.
the second appears to be more loaded than the first.

 

If you're interested, this Mitsu site that has PDF docs that explain the VIN number format in great detail for years 2000-2008:

http://www.mitsubishicars.com/MMNA/jsp/owners/vin.do