Occasionally, vehicles within the same year can have different build-styles, which may cause some confusion while purchasing parts. You might see “Old Style” or “New Style” for the same year, so how do you tell which is the one you need?

You can find clues in everything from the body style such as the bumper or the fender to subtle differences in individual components like headlights or fog light positioning. We’re here to help you identify visuals you can use to select the correct parts for your car, starting with…

1. 1999 BMW 3 Series

• Note the location of the grilles. Is it attached to the bumper cover, or is it attached to the hood?
  • The Old Body style has grilles on the bumper cover
  • The New Body Style has grilles on the hood.
• Another part you can look at is the fog light.
  • The Old Body Style has fog lights in line with the front bumper grille.
  • The New Body Style has fog lights ABOVE the front bumper grille.
• The last visibile difference are the headlights.
  • The Old Body Style has straight, rectangular headlights.
  • The New Body Style has rounded, curved edges on the bottoms of the headlights.
    

2. 2005 Audi A4

• The easiest thing to locate are your license plates.
  • The Old Style has the license plate on the bumper cover
  • The new style has the license plate on the grille.
• Next are the tail lights.
  • The Old Style has only one pair of tail lights.
  • The New Style has a pair of inner tail lights located on the trunk lid.
• Are there side markers on the front and rear bumpers?
  • Only the New Style has side markers on the front and rear bumper covers.

3. 1998 Audi A6

• There are only a couple slight differences on this vehicle.
• Is the corner light separate or connected to the headlight?
  • The Old Style has the corner lamp separated from the headlight.
  • The New Style has the corner lamp INSIDE the headlight housing.
• Does the vehicle have fog lights?
  • Only the New Style has fog lights.

4. 2006 Hyundai Accent

• Is the grille chrome or painted?
  • The Old Style has a painted grille that is part of the bumper.
  • The New Style has a chrome moulding on the grille.
• Are there side markers on the front or rear bumper covers?
  • The Old Style has side markers on both its front and rear bumper cover.
  • The New Style does not have side markers.

5. 1999 Volkswagen Cabrio

• Do the headlights lens have textured vertical lines on the glass, or do the headlights have clear, see-through glass?
  • The Old Style has vertical lines textured on the lens.
  • The New Style has clear, see-through glass on the lens.
• Does the vehicle have white turn signals and fog lights?
  • The Old style has white turn signals and fog lights.
  • The New style does NOT have these turn signals and fog lights.

6. 1996 Chevrolet Van

• Do the headlights have two amber corner lights next to them on each side?
  • The Old Style only has white colored headlight lens.
  • The New Style has the amber corner lights on each side next to the headlights.
• Is there an amber-colored side marker on the fender?
  • The Old Style has the amber-colored side marker on the fender.
  • The new Style does not have this.
• Are the side-view mirrors mounted on the door or mounted on the corner of the window?
  • The Old Style has its side-view mirrors mounted on the door.
  • The New Style has its mirrors mounted on the window.

7. 2002 Dodge Ram Pickup

• Unfortunately, there aren’t too many clues for this one. You can try taking a look at the corner lamp of your vehicle.
  • The Old Style has a corner light separated from the headlight, which can be purchased separately.
  • The New Style has a corner light that is combined with the headlight.

8. 2003 Mercedes Benz E-Class

• The best thing to look at for this vehicle are the headlights.
  • The Old Style has opaque-white, non-see-through lens that also have a bumpy texture to them.
  • The New Style has transparent lens with lack of a texture.

9. 1997 – 1998 Ford Pickup

• Once again, for these older vehicles, we direct your attention to the corner lamp. Is the amber corner lamp on the side of the headlight or below the headlight?
  • The Old Style has a separate corner lamp on the BOTTOM of the headlight.
  • The New Style’s Corner lamp is separate but to the SIDE of the headlight.

10. 2006 BMW 3 Series – OLD (E46) vs NEW (E90) Style

• This is the E46 (older style) vs the E90 (newer style). There are several differences between the E46 and E90, which should make it easy to identify which version you have.
• Does the vehicle use a standard key ignition or an electronic key insert?
  • The Old style E46 uses the standard key ignition
  • The New Style E90 uses an electronic key insert with the START/STOP button.
• Does the vehicle have LED lights on the bottom of the door handles?
  • The Old style E46 does NOT have LED lights on the door handles.
  • The New Style E90 DOES.
• Does the vehicle have square-shaped or round-shaped door mirrors?
  • The Old E46 has more SQUARE-shaped door mirrors WITHOUT electronic folding.
  • The New E90 has more ROUND-shaped door mirrors WITH electronic folding.
• Is the color of the engine black or gray?
  • The Old E46 has a black engine cover.
  • The New E90 has a gray engine cover.
• Are the two grilles on the hood or on the bumper cover?
  • The Old E46 has two grilles on the HOOD.
  • The New E90 has the two grilles on the BUMPER COVER.

This is the first of our Old vs. New Body Style installments. If your vehicle wasn’t listed, please await the next couple posts!

If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. And if you’re still unsure whether the part you’ve selected is correct or not, you can reach out to us for fitment questions as well. We just need your vehicle application and VIN# if possible. We’re always happy to help!

Have a good day!

- Parts Nation