First of all, I’m no Xerox service tech so maybe there are better ways of doing this or different ways, or maybe ways to defeat the protections that are built into the machines to prevent people from selling reconditioned machines as NEW, so if you know something I don’t then by all means, leave a comment below. Thank you!!
Now, on the back of the unit there is a sticker that is stamped with the Manufactured Date. If the machine is New or Used and has never seen Remanufacture service then this is the real age of the machine. But the only way to tell if this is indeed the true birth date is to cross-reference this date with the date when the machine was first setup and used (put into service).
The way you do that is to pull up the “Sale Date” aka “product first use date” from the machine’s firmware. The term “Sale Date” is kind of a misnomer because it is actually the date on which someone first printed, scanned or faxed a document on the device.  If the machine is New then it stands to reason that it would have a “Product first use date” close after the Manufactured Date. If it has been remanufactured or recertified then the date in the firmware will be earlier. Here is how to read the Sale Date:
First a link to the Service Manual for the Xerox Copy Centre C20 (WorkCentre M20 / WorkCentre M20i) Copier:Â Click Here
Inside that manual, on page 160 you will find GP 9, which details how to find out the Sale Date of the machine.  Here are the instructions reprinted:
GP 9 Identify Sale Date (M20i Only)
Press 2: The LCD display shows “Product first use date”
Choose the Menu/Exit button
and immediately type in #1934 from the right-side Keypad.
A Login screen
should appear. If it does not appear then go back to step 1 and try again,
hitting the #1934 quickly.
Type in #1934.
Type in the Password of #1934.This will return you to the Copy Feature screen and you will see a “T” over
the copy count. Use Machine Status button to access areas needed as any normal
CE Mode entry.
