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

[davidsw]

Since you have only had the car 4 months I would look at giving the dealer the oportunity of buying the car back , of course including an amount to cover your improvements and inconvenience.He woiuld be glad of the chance to avoid being involved in any further investigations that may arise.

 

[jke11y]

Some epic head in the sand from the OP here "its fine its fine errrmm im sure its fine"!

 

[Shude]

Some epic head in the sand from the OP here "its fine its fine errrmm im sure its fine"!

If this car was cloned somehow it was probably a long time ago and as long as it's safe and roadworthy, not on police databases as stolen and the paperwork can be squared up then I don't see a problem with it. It's highly likely that if it were stolen then the owner will have made a claim on it. The very worst thing that can happen is an insurance company tries to claw it back if it paid out on it a few years ago but I reckon with this age/value of car they'd drop it.

 

[sinewave]

i contacted the last mot station that had it in 5 yrears in a row but the guy sadly said he has about 60 cars a day go through his garage and could not remember the car..... ;(

60 Cars a day my backside!

OP you seem ever so gullible!

You've been told the correct course of action yet you are still grasping at straws hoping for an easy way out.


Carry on then.................

 

[davidjpowell]

60 Cars a day my backside!

OP you seem ever so gullible!

You've been told the correct course of action yet you are still grasping at straws hoping for an easy way out.

Carry on then.................

Tyre workshop / just mot type place?

It's not impossible...

 

[Sp!ke]

If you strip back the paint and polish the metal around where the VIN should be, you will likely reveal the numbers that were there originally and be able to trace the car.

Personally though I would go back to the car dealer that sold you the car and let lem have the problem. They could of course say that this car wasnt the one they sold you and frankly you'd have no proof to contradict this.

I would not drive this car in its current state, nor would I buy blank chassis plates and stick them on. By doing either could find yourself one day being caught out in a stop check and end up with a night in the cells and even if you establish innocense you'll likely loose the car.

As others have said, get back to the seller pronto.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

60 a day?
Even if it's a 10 hour day for them that's 6 an hour or 10 minutes each.

I've told him 10,000,000 times not to exaggerate


It would be interesting to know if the floor pan looks as though it's had a plate welded in where the VIN number should be.
Aren't all winscreens standard fit? How can a new one hide anything?

 

[Shude]

Aren't all winscreens standard fit? How can a new one hide anything?

Early or cheap ones might not have the window for the VIN, also I have seen bits of trim etc obscure the VIN after a windscreen replacement.

Just seems unlikely that all these things could happen to a car without it being intentional.

 

[bernie driscoll]

Just check the engine number against the one on the logbook.

If the engine number has been removed as well...

 

[jaymanek]

I think the OP is rightly keeping a level head here, all the information points to this being nothing sinister.

Have you had a good look under that seat flap? On both sides of the car? The vin is stamped and painted over and often needs to be cleaned back to read it..
The inner door sticker is just a sticker and could have been removed for a paint job or just because it was peeling off.. who knows..

You can see paintwork on the offside inner wheel arch, but a car of that age is going to have had paintwork!

I would advise you look into it further but wouldnt panic.

 

[jgs600]

ok guys easy eh... jesus h...!!!

well after a long chat today with the vosa and dvla, the guys from the dvla said all i need to do is send in my log book with a cover note explaining what has happened. they will then issue a new vin plate number. either on a uk blank one or one i choose.... then they will book the car into my local svo centre so they can give the car a quick check over. easy peasy.

BUT... even so i would still like to get to the bottom of this myself and will continue to search for some answers. at the moment the car is sorned as i was having it resprayed so am in no rush to get her back on the road just yet.

will post again when this is all sorted so thanks to everyone for there positive and kinda maybe positive answers.....LOL

 

[Sp!ke]

I think the OP is rightly keeping a level head here, all the information points to this being nothing sinister.

What *non* sinister reason could there be for the stamped VIN both in the engine bay and inside the car being removed or non existant?

 

[jaymanek]

Ok just been out to three of our W202's.. The VIN number is in these locations

- Windscreen - but as OP has said his has been incorrectly swapped with one for no VIN display - seen this before as its a choice when replacing the screen and aftermarket fitters dont get it right.

- B Pillar Sticker, on all of our cars these are pretty worn, VIN hardly legible

- Under drivers seat in the middle under small cut out in carpet. NOTE that on two of our cars the cut out was not in line with the VIN so at first I couldnt see the VIN until I moved the carpet forward.

I cannot see Vin number in the engine bay anywhere thats visible.

Hope that helps.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Early or cheap ones might not have the window for the VIN, also I have seen bits of trim etc obscure the VIN after a windscreen replacement.

Just seems unlikely that all these things could happen to a car without it being intentional.

On a car a friend bought a while back I saw his windscreen VIN was completely covered. When he showed it to me (he was worried that something wasn't quite right) it turned out that it was accidentally obscured by a stray pay & display ticket (from a previous owner). Over time the ticket had become bleached by sunlight so it just looked like a white label had been stuck over the VIN. Removed the ticket for him & hey presto we could see the VIN

In this case and with the age of the car not a lot to worry about. However, for piece of mind I would be checking for an engine number at the very least.

As Jay has said VINs can become obscured over time (especially if the car has had paintwork too).

 

[Sp!ke]

VIN should be on the firewall/scuttle on almost every MB i've seen

 

[jaymanek]

Its probably behind all the padding etc... so not visible without removing stuff.

 

[Sp!ke]

It is supposed to be visible - I'm quite surprised that as a dealer you are so blase about VIN numbers.

I've never bought a car without checking them very carefully.

 

[bernie driscoll]

ok guys easy eh... jesus h...!!!

Check the engine number, if that matches you've not got too many worries.

If you SVA it and they find it's a ringer, you'll be getting a bus home.

 

[jgs600]

ok just had another good look, the little bit under the drivers seat has no markings and looks original, i even took some emery paper and rubbed some of the paint work away...nothing...!! had a look on the passenger side and the paint finish is exactly the same.. i mean exactly so im almost 100% sure it was never there.
as for the windscreen well its difficult to tell unless i pay someone to take the bloody thing off and even then it might not be there. ive just looked at another 1998 and he had the vin in the windscreen and his is the same year car as mine c class estate. oh and he had the black sticker ob the door b piller..... dam.... oh and by the way where is the engine number supposed to be as i cant see anything

cheers
guys

 

[jaymanek]

Is this car an import? Would explain a lot?