Keep the labels attached
Production date concerns when a vehicle was built. Model year is the model-year designation assigned to it. First registration concerns its registration history. These are different concepts, so a single year in a sales headline should not be treated as all three.
Ask which date the seller means
If a listing simply gives a year, ask whether it means model year or first registration. If a month is supplied, record what that month describes too. Keep the answer beside the exact wording from the listing so you can spot a misunderstanding later.
Do not use a date as an equipment list
A date alone is not a reliable checklist of every feature on an individual car. Check the particular equipment that matters to you rather than assuming that a screen, light design or assistance function follows automatically from the advertised year. Ask about each feature in plain language.
Build a short comparison
For each car, create separate entries for production date, model year and first registration, leaving any unknown value blank. Add a final entry for equipment you have actually checked. This prevents a date discrepancy from being silently converted into an equipment claim. If two documents use different date labels, first establish whether they are answering different questions before treating them as contradictory.