I am trying to find out the year of my craftsman lawn tractor model # 917.271652? Can someone please tell me what year it is? Thank you

What is the serial number of the tractor?

We have this lawn tractor. We bought it in 2002.

A person at Sears service told me that the first six digits of the serial number will tell you the date of manufacture. It's in the 00/00/00 format. So a serial number that is 052397... means it was made May 23, 1997.