date of production

[mikestill]

Hi All the last numbers of my Vin number are 116181 i believe the 11 indicates a maestro therefore does this mean it was the 6,181 to be built and if so when was that ?
Mike

[Wild Bill]

I believe they all start with 1 so yours is likely to be 16,181th built. Without applying for a heritage certificate though, you couldn't work out the exact date but I'd say yours is a very early one probably built in early 1983. If you look at date stamps on various parts, you will get a better idea of when it was built too.

[Nick RS]

The model identifier for the car is the 4th and 5th characters of the VIN so for Maestro that is XC. (Montego is XE). The six digits at the end are the unique number for that car and from memory Maestro began at 100000, so as Bill says yours in theory is 16,181st built.
This logic isn't 100% foolproof as some much later cars, paricularly more modern Land Rovers jump around and can start anywhere.

[Mr bump]

How did the numbering system apply to MG cars? Did they select a batch of cars, send them to cowley then put the vin on them?
was they done as and when an MG1600 maestro was orderd?
Was the vin assigned before going for the MG conversion?
I'd like to find out what number my R series MG1600 is.