Sorry i'm posting these questions, but i'm really considering buying a 350 this week. I had planned to wait till the 04s, but i'm having a damn hard time waiting. I've read about the 03 problems, but heard if you get an 03 with a high vin number you probably won't have as many problems. I don't know much about VIN numbers, so how can you tell if the one you get is a high one? Thanks for any help.

 

the last 5 numbers on the VIN are the numbers that will tell you when your car was built. But don't forget, there are two sets--one set with side air bags and one set without, so for example, there will be two cars with the last 5 numbers as 10324.

(For the side air bag number, I *believe* it's the 7th number from the end.)

 

Just to clarify, there MAY be two cars with the same last five digits. Not all cars have a "twin" with the side airbags. The numbering is sequential based on how they come off the line. For every car to have a twin, every other car coming off the line would have to have side bags and I don't imagine that anywhere near 50% of the Z's have the side bags.

You an also easily check the build date by looking at the sticker that is on the drivers side door jamb. It gives the month and year.

 

Thanks alot for the info

 

In the 11 months the 350Z has been available, I know of no twin serial numbers. The cars come off the same assembly line and have consective last 5 numbers. If the first digit after the letter is a zero, you have the optional side curtain air bags. If the number is a 1, you don't have the optional side air bags.

I've been following the serial numbers since day one and I see no evidence of twin numbers.

My VIN is 001890 and with the exception of a small grease streak on the drivers window, which is going away, I have not had a single problem with my car so you can't judge weather you'll have a problem by the VIN number.. It's really just plain luck..

Steve (k2we) Dobbs Ferry, NY 11,781 miles since Sept 17th...