Is a 4-5 Month Old Car Considered a Stock Vehicle?
1 Answers
A car that has been in the factory for 4 to 5 months is considered a stock vehicle. There are no national regulations defining the number of months for a stock car, but generally, cars that have been in the factory for more than three months are referred to as stock vehicles. As a commodity, cars are bulky, expensive, and incur high storage costs, while also tying up a significant amount of a dealer's capital. Therefore, dealers generally do not allow vehicles to remain in stock for long periods. Due to the automotive industry's emphasis on timeliness, under normal circumstances, new cars can be completed from manufacturing to sale to buyers within one or two months. Hence, cars that have been in the factory for 1-2 months are not considered stock vehicles. For imported cars, due to factors such as transportation cycles, if they are six months or more from the production date, they can also be considered stock vehicles. For stock vehicles that have been sitting idle for months or even a year, most are stored in open-air parking lots, exposed to sun and rain without basic maintenance. As a result, various components such as engine oil, electronic parts, batteries, rubber seals, and tires are prone to aging due to moisture. New cars that have been in stock for less than a year can still be purchased, but it is advisable to request the 4S store to replace the original engine oil and check the production date of the tires. New tires older than two years face the risk of rubber aging, so it is also recommended to ask the 4S store to replace them. Quick methods to identify a stock vehicle are as follows: Check the production nameplate: Typically, there is a vehicle nameplate on the right side (passenger side) of the car, below the B-pillar, which displays the vehicle's production date, engine parameters, and other information. This can be directly viewed. Check the glass: The car glass will have the production date marked on it. The numbers indicate the year, and the black dots represent the month. If the dots are in front, subtract the number of dots from 7; if they are at the back, subtract from 13. The result gives the month. Check the tires: This may not always be 100% accurate in determining if a car is a stock vehicle, but the production date of the tires can provide a rough estimate of the manufacturing time. The four-digit code indicates the week (first two digits) and the year (last two digits).
