Tips for buying a used Jotul GF DV gas stove from afar?

[warmup777]

Hi! I've spent the last several weeks obsessively reading It's a Gas posts (thank you!), and I've narrowed down my search to the Jotul GF 200 or 300 DV standing pilot (NG). I don't have the budget for a new unit. Used stoves are very scarce in my area so I'm looking at trucking one out from farther afield. Since I have to buy without seeing the stove in person, I'd love some guidance about how to tell how old a unit is and if there are a couple things I could ask sellers to avoid red flags or paying some outlandish price.

One clue might be stove color--does someone know when Jotul stopped making the white enamel in the GF 200/300? That would be enormously helpful. One ivory unit has a serial number 001533, is there any date clue in there (first photo below) or elsewhere on the label (how long did they use ANSI 2002)?

I also saw one Lillehammer that has no doors in front and cannot figure out when they made this style or if it would be safe to buy--second and third photos below.

Last question is that someone has a Lopi Sturbridge that's sort of intriguing. Any input on whether that's a smart one to buy used?
This newbie is very grateful for any light you can shed!

 

[DAKSY]

Call your local Jotul dealer & give him the serial numbers for each unit.
He can narrow down those numbers to the years they were built.

 

[warmup777]

Great tip, thank you!

 

[warmup777]

I ended up finding a GF 300 DV that is pretty old but was never installed, so it's on the way to me--cross fingers! I'm also on the hunt for a second stove and am trying to determine the correct size, posted separately.