Possibly the dumbest question ever asked on GG?

[family affair]

Every man has to make his mark. Here I go:
If my f150's are manufactured in 10/04, does that make them 04 or 05 models?
I ask for a couple reasons. When I look up parts, the models only show up on parts diagrams as 05. It's possibly other sites might show data for 04, but I haven't seen it. Apples and oranges, but my Ford F150 was built in 10/17 but was sold as a 2018. I'm considering selling the engines and don't want to misrepresent them.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Not a dumb question... but one that has no definitive answer.
This is what I think I know...
For a long time outboards from various manufacturers used a letter code in the model# to indicate the "model year".
They stopped doing that.
They keep a model # for years and have a mfg date and a serial#
They indicate minor changes to a model by serial# range now.

They can sell an unused motor built years ago as new in whatever year they can, which doesn't seem to be a problem they have anymore anyways.

You can list the model and mfg date and/or the date of first use (warranty start).

 

[DennisG01]

That's the way I understand it, too. The "year" of the motor is based on when it was sold (registered), not manufactured. All pertinent information is based on the serial number.

I do know, for a fact, that this is how it is with Mercury.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

When I bought my boat last October from a Grady White dealer in Maryland, they said that anything I believe after May or June is considered to be the following model year. So for instance, my motor says “Manufactured 06/03” but supposedly because it was manufactured in June of 2003 then it’s actually a 2004 motor? I hadn’t heard of this before, although I’d admittedly never owned a Yamaha 4 stroke outboard up until then and didn’t know much about them before. Whether it’s actually true or not? I’m sure a phone call to a Yamaha tech with your manufacturer date as well as the serial number or model number could probably answer your question pretty quickly and easily.

 

[seasick]

Yamaha no longer and has not for a while put a date stamp on the motor bracket.
The change was done to clear up the confusion on what year a motor was. It kind of like automobiles. An auto may be a 2023 model sold in 2022.
The boat model year depends on when the hull was assigned a HIN. If it was done in the last quarter or so of a year, the boat can be called the next year model ( I don't remember the exact month that the hull can be called the next model year but it did change fa while ago from late in the year to earlier like maybe July??) . The hull id last four digits/letters tell you the model year and the actual manufacture month and year.
In addition to the hull year confusion, a hull dated as a 2022 may have a motor manufactured in 2021.
In my case, my 208 a 2001 model was built in the later part of 2000 and had a model year 2000 motor manufactured in 1999

 

[DennisG01]

So for instance, my motor says “Manufactured 06/03” but supposedly because it was manufactured in June of 2003 then it’s actually a 2004 motor? I hadn’t heard of this before,

Sure you have! The same thing is exactly what goes on with new cars. You can buy a new car right now and it could be a 2023 model. It sure as heck wasn't made in the future and brought back to the present

 

[SkunkBoat]

to clarify my point, there is no longer a "model year" for motors. Its not like cars.
Neither you nor a dealer can randomly decide what doesn't exist.

The following is from iBOATS.

Begining in 2005 Yamaha stopped including the year information in the model number. The production date can be found on the transom bracket of post 2004 motors.

Nothing in the Mercury Mariner Outboard engine model numbers or serial numbers provides year information directly.
The first serial number sold in a year becomes the beginning serial number. Serial numbers between that year's beginning serial number and the next year's first fall into the same year. Search for your engine horsepower on the Mercury Mariner serial number year chart located here to find the beginning serial number for the range that includes your engine.

Same applies to Suzuki. They stopped using model year codes also.

 

[family affair]

Seems safe to assume these engines would be marketed as 2005 then. The boat is a 2005. The engines likely didn't go into service till 2005.
I just want to avoid a WTF issue if a buyer sees the manufacturing date of 10/04.
Thanks all.

 

[DennisG01]

Seems safe to assume these engines would be marketed as 2005 then. The boat is a 2005. The engines likely didn't go into service till 2005.
I just want to avoid a WTF issue if a buyer sees the manufacturing date of 10/04.
Thanks all.

Easiest way to explain is to say "It's just like cars". That's probably where the conversation would end. You can then decide to further explain or not... "But, really, there is no such thing as a model year for an engine - the serial number is all that matters".

The main reason that a "year" WILL matter is for warranty. And this is based on when the selling dealer registers the engine with the manufacturer (the "inservice" date).

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Sure you have! The same thing is exactly what goes on with new cars. You can buy a new car right now and it could be a 2023 model. It sure as heck wasn't made in the future and brought back to the present

Couldn’t tell ya… I’ve never bought a brand new car or boat before, and don’t really ever plan on doing so. My post was just passing along what the GW dealer told me, which is that if it’s after the midway point of the year then it’s considered the next model year as opposed to the current one. i.e a 2004 vs 2003, not an early 2004 outboard that’s for some reason considered a 2003.

 

[enfish]

The hull id last four digits/letters tell you the model year and the actual manufacture month and year.

Except... not in my case... My 1995 hull was manufactured in 1998... Granted that was a special case where the original hull was replaced under warranty so GW manufactured a new hull and gave it the original HIN of the now scrapped original hull.

 

[Fishtales]

I’d list as an engine as 2004 for the following reasons.
- Date of Manufacture is 10/2004.
- As a buyer I’d have my antennas up and be wondering what else could be misrepresented if called a 2004
I bought a 2006 hill with late year 2005 motors that didn’t splash till the spring of 2007. I’d advertise is just that way, 2006 boat, 2005 engines with X hours that first saw water in 2007.

 

[seasick]

Except... not in my case... My 1995 hull was manufactured in 1998... Granted that was a special case where the original hull was replaced under warranty so GW manufactured a new hull and gave it the original HIN of the now scrapped original hull.

Interesting but I were looking at the boat, I would use the HIN to tell me the manufacture year. You could state that it was a replacement under warranty but until your post, I wouldn't have believed you.

 

[enfish]

Interesting but I were looking at the boat, I would use the HIN to tell me the manufacture year. You could state that it was a replacement under warranty but until your post, I wouldn't have believed you.

Yep, it's a 1995 model year, and that's all I could sell it as. Between 1995 and 1998 GW changed the cosmetics of the top side, but they pulled out the old molds used in 1995 to re-make my hull so it looks like a 1995, not a 1998.

But, I did get some nice changes that were made to the boat between those years. So when it came back under warranty it had:

1. All bronze thru-hulls, replacing the plastic ones
2. A poly fuel tank, replacing the aluminum, which also included a 1-piece deck with no hatch cover for the tank.
3. The updated 1998 style GW badging/branding
4. They added a bow pulpit for free, which I suspect was a QA reject that they were going to throw away because a few years later it developed gelcoat blistering issues and had some voids in the layout where the gelcoat chipped off on the non-skid. But I still consider it a nice gesture.

So I probably have factory unicorn boat. But all 27 year old boats are unicorns by this point...