vins do not match, what would you do??? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Carson357 · #1 05-12-2007, 08:13 PM

on friday we had a car come in to the shop for a prepurchase inspection, the car was reported to the buyer that it was a european graymarket import, which is kind of unusual for a 2003 C320, we were suspicious from that alone. living in san diego i thought the buyer might have it confused with a mexico car which we see from time to time and do infact appear "euro", but it clearly was a california car had all california emissions labels. over all the car was nice and had basically zero defects, after all it was only 9k miles, another red flag, i was reviewing the report we generated after scanning the car and i just happened to notice the vin generated from the report was different from the vin on the car and on the pink slip!! i went to inspect and the door sticker looked unusual and the vin tag at the windshield was not centered like it should be, i told the perspective buyer and he said mercedes had no record of the vin number displayed, both came back "clean" through carfax. i thought it was a little much to report to the local authorities, but now i am thinking different.

kerry · #2 05-12-2007, 08:25 PM

Where did you get the VIN for the report if it's not the same as the one on the car or pink slip?

Carson357 · #3 05-12-2007, 08:29 PM

i got the vin from the report, when you use a mercedes scanner it puts the vin at the top of the report, in order for the drive autorization system to function, the vin in the eis and in the engine control module must be the same, so by default it prints the vin at the top, i guess to identify which car the report is from, but the report vin and the vins on the car do not match, similar, but not the same

300SD81 · #4 05-12-2007, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carson357

i got the vin from the report, when you use a mercedes scanner it puts the vin at the top of the report, in order for the drive autorization system to function, the vin in the eis and in the engine control module must be the same, so by default it prints the vin at the top, i guess to identify which car the report is from, but the report vin and the vins on the car do not match, similar, but not the same

Any chance the ECU was swapped at some point?

#5 05-12-2007, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 300SD81

Any chance the ECU was swapped at some point?

That is what I am thinking, lower mile ecu and speedo can change the value of a car in a big way. I see them on eBay all the time.

Matt L · #6 05-12-2007, 10:27 PM

I think there's a 100% chance that the ECU was changed. Had it been done legally, the mileage would still be correct, and the numbers would match.

Carson357 · #7 05-12-2007, 11:35 PM

how do you explaint the invalid vin on the drivers door pillar and windshield area? when they were given to mercedes they said the car does not exhist. you would have to change the engine module and eis

iwrock · #8 05-12-2007, 11:40 PM

Have you ran both vins thru carfax to see if they are both valid?

Carson357 · #9 05-12-2007, 11:42 PM

both do work in carfax, just the one on the car is invalid through mercedes benz. unfortunately carfax will not report if a car is stolen or not.

iwrock · #10 05-12-2007, 11:44 PM

Does it show how many miles each has? Is one mileage closer than another?

Does it show if one has been wrecked?

Stoney · #11 05-19-2007, 11:07 PM

Run Forrest Run!

POS · #12 05-19-2007, 11:09 PM

I'd report it.

truckinik · #13 05-19-2007, 11:38 PM

Well, I just paid big money for a Euro 560 Sec, and refuse to go through the necessary changes, and import methods for the car, from out of the country.. So I bought another one, in the states, with a clean title. I'm using the vin tags and title, on the illegally imported euro car, and I'm good to go.. Neither one is stolen,I've got both titles, bills of sales, but wait 'til I show up at the dealer for service/repairs/maint. work..They're going to look at my car as if it were from outer space. So the whole thing could be legit, like mine or something. (Aside from vin tampering, being illegal) How much trouble could I possibly get in anyways, if both cars are mine legitimately from the start..? Just tell the prospective buyer, and the current owner, and leave it to them. Or you can just mind your own business, and let it alone. Ifg that car is stolen, someone's already collected the insurance money for it anyways, and the thing has been through the laundry already. Aside from a shabby re-vinning job, it's likely in the clear. Leave it to fate and let it go.

Jim B. · #14 05-20-2007, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truckinik

Well, I just paid big money for a Euro 560 Sec, and refuse to go through the necessary changes, and import methods for the car, from out of the country.. So I bought another one, in the states, with a clean title. I'm using the vin tags and title, on the illegally imported euro car, and I'm good to go.. Neither one is stolen,I've got both titles, bills of sales, but wait 'til I show up at the dealer for service/repairs/maint. work..They're going to look at my car as if it were from outer space. So the whole thing could be legit, like mine or something. (Aside from vin tampering, being illegal) How much trouble could I possibly get in anyways, if both cars are mine legitimately from the start..?

Could be plenty of trouble......

Nick, my personal opinion is that you're taking a huge risk in bringing in the 560SEC euro that way.

I'd definately hope you would get ahold of of a registered importer, from the official list, that you can work with, and pay the extra $5,000-$10,000 or whatever it costs, these days, to have it brought across the border legally, wait the few months it takes to get it signed off by the DOT/EPA, and fully legalized.

Those agencies can really make hash out of you if they feel that you are trying to make an end run around them.

Some fellow recently imported an '88 Mercedes 560SEL from Iraq that he believed may have belonged to Saddam, home to Connecticut.

It was immediately confiscated by the US government. Obviously not the same situation as yours, (as Iraq is a country from which imported vehicles are illegal in the USA, considered war trophies) but it was a bad result for the guy who tried.

Here's the link, with the unhappy result you might like to look at:

First story about it: (2005)
http://www.strangecosmos.com/content/item/109342.html

Then,the Government finds out about it, (2006) and it gets ugly:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/20/oh-lord-wont-you-buy-me-a-hussein-y-benz/

More on that car:
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=272327&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

Mere possession of a gray market car in the United States without having the importation paperwork and necessary DOT/EPA/emissions equipment
on the car criminalizes it.

If that is discovered, be sure, the car could be ordered deported or destroyed, and you could be personally liable for fines or worse.

Switching VINs and titles sounds to me, on its face, to be going into a very risky area, I would not do it.

BENZ-LGB · #15 05-20-2007, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim B.

Switching VINs and titles sounds to me, on its face, to be going into a very risky area, I would not do it.

Sage advice (you and I know that) but one that will surely be ignored.

Wait until the proper agencies get a hold of the vehicle(s) and start looking for the secret VINs. That's when it will get fun!