If you know how the serial numbers work you can tell when the rile was manufactured , year and month . But as stated , if you ring Air Arms they can tell you when it was made , who it was sold to and when , also how many times its been serviced or back to them for any repair , and tyhe details of such things . They will also tell you the full spec of the rifle as it left , so basically if its not how they say it should be , its been messed with . Where as your local RFD will have more part exchanges than the local car sales pitch , so can really not give the information AA can .