Missing History Enigma of an E Class W211

[Teflon]

Hi All.

5 or 6 months ago I bought an 06 plate E class and after sorting out some issues I finally had the chance to look over it's MOT and Service History. With no handbook or service book available this was a little more difficult
than I had presumed. However thanks to Lookers of Stoke I now know the car's service history for the first two years of it's life. Then the situation becomes a little muddier as I have had to write to the MOT stations
that MOT'd the car subsequently to ask if they had performed any servicing to the vehicle prior to test date.
With no response as yet I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that at least some service history is recorded.

By far though, the most confusing thing is that for long periods throughout it's life it seems to have dropped off the radar completely. With no MOT'S performed at all for periods sometimes in excess of a year.
When the car resurfaces at it's next MOT it's showing an average or slightly less/more than average mileage increase. Thereby ruling out the forecourt explanation or it being VOR for the intervening period.
Car analytics has reported that the car has never had a plate change so I can only assume that the car was used abroad or in N.I.

Either of those explanations would I suppose in normal circumstances be a reason for gaps in a cars history, but with a total of 5 significant disappearances spread over many years it seems unlikely. Especially considering
that the over those years the car has had six changes of ownership. I mean how likely is it that 6 different owners all decide to take the car out of the UK mainland? It seems a little far fetched to me.

If anyone can shed light on those disappearances or know of any service history I'd be pleased to PM the Reg/Vin No.

FTR Here is a list of the the "Disappearances"

May 2011 - Feb 2012
Feb 2013 - July 2014
July 2015 - June 2016
June 2018 - March 2019
March 2020 - Dec 2021

 

[EndlessMoneyPit]

Apologies if I'm being a bit thick, but when you say disappearance, do you mean an MOT ran out in May 2011 but it wasn't MOT'd again until Feb 2012?

Also do you know any dates the vehicle changed owner?

 

[Teflon]

Apologies if I'm being a bit thick, but when you say disappearance, do you mean an MOT ran out in May 2011 but it wasn't MOT'd again until Feb 2012?

Also do you know any dates the vehicle changed owner?

Exactly, yet between those dates it showed an increase of nearly 3,500 miles. As for ownership all I know is the previous owner bought it in early 2022 he would have been the 6th owner

 

[EndlessMoneyPit]

It does seem odd to have so many gaps without it having any plate changes and with so many different owners. If it was one owner doing a lot of foreign travel it would make sense.

Does the location of the MOT garages give any clues to possible ownership changes?

It's intriguing, I hope there's someone on here who can access information by Reg. or VIN. Do let us know if you find anything.

I wrote to the MOT garage when I bought my last car, but they didn't reply either. The colour on the MOT didn't match the V5 and I asked if they knew anything about it. I don't really blame them, they're probably too busy.

 

[whitenemesis]

Could it be at change of ownership and was sitting on a garage forecourt?

 

[Teflon]

It does seem odd to have so many gaps without it having any plate changes and with so many different owners. If it was one owner doing a lot of foreign travel it would make sense.

Does the location of the MOT garages give any clues to possible ownership changes?

It's intriguing, I hope there's someone on here who can access information by Reg. or VIN. Do let us know if you find anything.

I wrote to the MOT garage when I bought my last car, but they didn't reply either. The colour on the MOT didn't match the V5 and I asked if they knew anything about it. I don't really blame them, they're probably too busy.

Yes, it's odd.. As for the MOT thing it's possible as the car has been MOT 'd in Birmingham and Berkshire as well as Stoke and Coventry..

 

[EndlessMoneyPit]

Yes, it's odd.. As for the MOT thing it's possible as the car has been MOT 'd in Birmingham and Berkshire as well as Stoke and Coventry..

Can you tie in any of the disappearance dates to the changes in location? I'd agree about it sitting on a forecourt, but surely that can't have happened for nearly every sale? And for so long each time? Unless it's a right lemon.

My latest car has had even more owners than yours, but one chap owned it for 11 years. Could yours have a similar history? One guy from 2011-2021 who travelled abroad a lot? That's why I'm wondering about the MOT locations/owner changes.

 

[alexanderfoti]

I know this is unlikely, but a friend of mine has forgotten about his MOT for nearly 6 years in a row. His car therefore has large gaps in its MOT history with the mileage going up (Don't get me started)

 

[Teflon]

Can you tie in any of the disappearance dates to the changes in location? I'd agree about it sitting on a forecourt, but surely that can't have happened for nearly every sale? And for so long each time? Unless it's a right lemon.

My latest car has had even more owners than yours, but one chap owned it for 11 years. Could yours have a similar history? One guy from 2011-2021 who travelled abroad a lot? That's why I'm wondering about the MOT locations/owner changes.

It's a good idea but the only changes in location I know of are from the MOT history. It's possible that the car underwent some ownership changes between 2008 and 2011 but that would mean it had 5 changes of owners in a 3 year period... Seems unlikely, but I admit it's possible.

 

[Teflon]

I know this is unlikely, but a friend of mine has forgotten about his MOT for nearly 6 years in a row. His car therefore has large gaps in its MOT history with the mileage going up (Don't get me started)

Wow, I thought I was bad when I miss it for a month or two.

 

[EndlessMoneyPit]

I wouldn't really count the owner you bought it from, unless I've misunderstood, he only had it for a few months. But I agree, does seem a bit unlikely. I'm stumped!

 

[Teflon]

I wouldn't really count the owner you bought it from, unless I've misunderstood, he only had it for a few months. But I agree, does seem a bit unlikely. I'm stumped!

I bought it in August 2022 as the 7th owner, the previous owner (6th) told me he'd bought it in Jan/Fab 22 so I think that for the first three years, possibly as much as 5 (as the MOT history is fairly consistent until 2011) The car had one owner. I think that sometime after that it had it's first change of owner, which would make the car five years old then. That to me seems to make sense as that is when most owners trade in statistically speaking. So owner No.2 in 2011, as we know the car had a further 4 changes before owner No. 6 bought it in 2022 That seems to rule out the one owner travelling abroad a lot, but of course it's all speculation. I sometimes wish Britain had retained the old log book system wherein every previous owner was recorded with name and address.

 

[Benz17]

Couldn’t the owner you bought it off, shed any light to who he purchased it from, or the sketchy history.

 

[Teflon]

Couldn’t the owner you bought it off, shed any light to who he purchased it from, or the sketchy history.

I asked him about that but it was a dead end, he'd bought it of Ebay and the previous owner delivered it. He sold it on to me when it turned out to be to large for the garage at his new home. Anyway no record of address of owner No.5 etc. Also I'm not sure if "Sketchy" is the word I would use to describe this situation. The car is not showing any red flags in terms of mileage inconsistencies nor has it ever been involved in an insurance claim, engine and vin numbers match those on the V5 and at Car analytics. Also the interior and bodywork condition is commensurate with the recorded mileage. As a bit of petrol head I'm happy with the car I'd just like to fill in the blanks.

 

[BigJase88]

I know this is unlikely, but a friend of mine has forgotten about his MOT for nearly 6 years in a row. His car therefore has large gaps in its MOT history with the mileage going up (Don't get me started)

My next door neighbour went over her expiry by almost a year.

A guy at work was in a panic as he had forgotten his by 6 months.

Who actually are these people

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hi All.

5 or 6 months ago I bought an 06 plate E class and after sorting out some issues I finally had the chance to look over it's MOT and Service History. With no handbook or service book available this was a little more difficult
than I had presumed. However thanks to Lookers of Stoke I now know the car's service history for the first two years of it's life. Then the situation becomes a little muddier as I have had to write to the MOT stations
that MOT'd the car subsequently to ask if they had performed any servicing to the vehicle prior to test date.
With no response as yet I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that at least some service history is recorded.

By far though, the most confusing thing is that for long periods throughout it's life it seems to have dropped off the radar completely. With no MOT'S performed at all for periods sometimes in excess of a year.
When the car resurfaces at it's next MOT it's showing an average or slightly less/more than average mileage increase. Thereby ruling out the forecourt explanation or it being VOR for the intervening period.
Car analytics has reported that the car has never had a plate change so I can only assume that the car was used abroad or in N.I.

Either of those explanations would I suppose in normal circumstances be a reason for gaps in a cars history, but with a total of 5 significant disappearances spread over many years it seems unlikely. Especially considering
that the over those years the car has had six changes of ownership. I mean how likely is it that 6 different owners all decide to take the car out of the UK mainland? It seems a little far fetched to me.

If anyone can shed light on those disappearances or know of any service history I'd be pleased to PM the Reg/Vin No.

FTR Here is a list of the the "Disappearances"

May 2011 - Feb 2012
Feb 2013 - July 2014
July 2015 - June 2016
June 2018 - March 2019
March 2020 - Dec 2021

I think I would continue in blissful ignorance. It has a weird and wonderful history, I’d leave it at that if I was you, or else there is a risk that it will drive you nuts, either not knowing, or knowing something you wish you didn’t.

 

[Teflon]

I think I would continue in blissful ignorance. It has a weird and wonderful history, I’d leave it at that if I was you, or else there is a risk that it will drive you nuts, either not knowing, or knowing something you wish you didn’t.

Probably sound advice

 

[poormansporsche]

Don't beat yourself up over it. The W211 is probably the best all round Mercedes ever made. If you bought without history you probably paid a lot less than for a equivalent garage queen. Enjoy it for what it is


On a side note I've paid plenty for cars with history files an inch thick that have turned out to be complete money pits and I've bought cars with just the v5 that didn't cost a penny in repairs, go figure!

 

[Smiley]

The most likely explanation is that someone has just forgotten to get the car MOTd - or deliberately forgotten to see how long they can get away with it. Or someone has used it as a cloned car on different plates for some of the time - but that would seem an unlikely choice of car to do that.
I would think it unlikely that the car will have had regular servicing if the MOT has been "forgotten".
Hopefully you bought it cheap enough that it doesn't matter - the 211 e240 is a pretty tough mechanically so I would just drive it.
Normally the time to check the MOT and service history is before you buy the car.........
And most car dealers' explanations of missing history are 100% fabricated BS.

 

[merc07]

The most likely explanation is that someone has just forgotten to get the car MOTd - or deliberately forgotten to see how long they can get away with it. Or someone has used it as a cloned car on different plates for some of the time - but that would seem an unlikely choice of car to do that.
I would think it unlikely that the car will have had regular servicing if the MOT has been "forgotten".
Hopefully you bought it cheap enough that it doesn't matter - the 211 e240 is a pretty tough mechanically so I would just drive it.
Normally the time to check the MOT and service history is before you buy the car.........
And most car dealers' explanations of missing history are 100% fabricated BS.

Wait until next month and see if you forget the MOT !