c250 failed its mot... NO VIN plate..what..!!

[sinewave]

Ringers will come up clean as the identity is kosher.

Tiz the car it's self which might not be original.

Don't mean it's not safe though.

I'd be back at the dealer asking Q's reet rapid after a quick stop off at Trading Standards to let U know where U stand.

 

[Colin_b]

so what do o do now, is it worth paying for an hpi check...
ive spoken to a guy who can get me a mercedes blank vin plate so thats not a problem but i now wonder if its a stolen car or something.... the free checks ive done online come up clean

You can buy 'blank' VIN plates? Make life easy for dishonest people, I'd have thought. Seems a bit odd.

 

[d w124]

The nr plate matches the car if that`s any helpful

 

[nick mercedes]

so what do o do now, is it worth paying for an hpi check...
ive spoken to a guy who can get me a mercedes blank vin plate so thats not a problem but i now wonder if its a stolen car or something.... the free checks ive done online come up clean

Compare the engine number to the one on the logbook.

 

[redbaron]

is it worth the hassle of finding out why? get some blanks made up and fitted... then get it mot'd elsewhere it is not like it is some £1m classic....

 

[sinewave]

That was my 'Plan B' suggestion!

 

[MercFanUk]

I guess it depends on what you intend to do with the car long term - if you're going to run it into the ground, then sort it so it MOT-able and be happy - if you plan on selling it on, I'd at least try and figure out what happened to it so you don't get bitten in the backside if it turns out it is a ringer.

 

[markjay]

I guess if it's genuine and you have access to previous owner there will be a paper trail to follow - old MOTs, old V5, etc? Or is the current V5C the only piece of paper you have for the car?

 

[markjay]

...Don't mean it's not safe though...

That would depend on the reason it was ringed - if indeed that's what it is.

If it was ringed to hide an insurance write-off you might want to know what damage it suffered and who repaired it.

Although to be fair at this age cars can get written off for relatively minor damage.

 

[jgs600]

yes the guy at the mot garage just said as long as its got a plate thats ok, this is the first car ive ever decided to spend money on thats why i had 2 new wings fitted and a full respray....i love it to bits... ive sent the last owner an email explaining whats going on, he might be able to help. i took the front and rear bumpers off myself for the respray and it all looks original i must admit. when i bought it it didnt have any history with it but when i emailed the last owner he sent me an email with a long list of what had been done and he even knows the guy who owned it beofore him too, i sopke to him on the phone and he was gutted to sell it as he needed a people carrier..

 

[PXW]

So how did the previous owner get it MOT'd?

 

[paulC180]

Do you have the V5 ? If yes run it through the Motoring : Directgov - MOT history request history check here.

 

[Druk]

Apart from the missing plate the Vin should be physically stamped into the chassis metal somewhere. On a 107 f'rinstance it's on the slam panel near the removeable plate. On my old 124 on the bulkhead facing the engine as per Nicks post #4.
Does anyone know where it is on this model?

 

[bernie driscoll]

If it was ringed to hide an insurance write-off you might want to know what damage it suffered and who repaired it.

Nobody rings a car to hide it's accident damage, as you can hpi it off the logbook and reg-plate.

Although most ringers are write-offs - car's scrapped but logbook finds it's way onto a stolen car.

 

[bernie driscoll]

So how did the previous owner get it MOT'd?

And why did he fit a new windscreen that hid the vin number?

 

[Will]

If you stick the VIN that is on your V5 through EPC, it would show the original build spec.

Ie - unlikely to find two 100% identical cars with exactly the same spec/trim/options etc.

Also useful to compare the engine number to the V5 too.

No one blanks off a VIN and as said already fits a windscreen that hides the VIN too.

If this turns out to be a ringer, was probably done years ago as the value these days is very little. Possibly before the last long term owner in that case?

 

[jgs600]

well just checked on the dvla site and it comes up with previous mot back until 2007..
ive spoken to my local garage and explained that i can get a genuine german mercedes vin plate made up and he says thats fine. he still thinks the original vin is hidden behind the new replacment front windscreen by mistake but i dont want to pay stupid money to have the screen taken out just to find out whether its there or not...!!!!!!!

 

[jgs600]

mmmmmm on benzworld i used there russian vin decoder and got a strange one...!!!
the vin number brings up a
year of manufacture 1977
fuel..gasoline
production number 7

strange... anyways who cares....lol

 

[jgs600]

gonna buy the top one in the picture and have the details engraved on, checked with the mot guy and its ok with him... phew... looks quite good actually i think

 

[Troon]

Can you find the engine or transmission number?