"New to me" - how do I discover the service history??
 

Hi all,
I've been around on the forum for a while but haven't been active recently. Two days ago, my wife and I bought a sweet little 1997 C-280. I think it's a one-owner car with 129K miles.
Interior is great, trunk is immaculate and engine compartment is as clean and tidy as the rest of the car. We're very pleased.

Trouble is, no service records or history came with the car. I'm a nut for keeping records and would really like to be able to discover what this car has been through and what work has been done on it.

How do I go about finding this out? I KNOW that there's an answer, I just don't know how to find it.

Thanks all, I really appreciate the help.

You can 'piece' together some information by going to a dealer and asking someone in service to run a VMI (Vehicle Master Inquiry) on your VIN. It's usually a free-bee. The amount of service information seems to vary depending on whether the car was serviced at a dealer and they input the info or serviced at an independent MB garage.

You can purchase a CarFax report although it generally covers registrations, smog tests and accidents. Some have reported finding service information but mine didn't include any.

If you can obtain the name of the previous owner, you can contact them for service information or the name of the garage they took the car too. If the privacy issue comes up, suggest that they be contacted and given your contact information.

If none of that helps, you can begin by creating a service history by changing all the fluids and filters as time and funds permit.

Given the year and mileage, my priorities would be 1) engine oil/filter, 2) brake fluid flush, 3) transmission fluid/filter and differential, 4) coolant flush, 5) spark plugs, 6) air filter and 7) cabin filters. Of course, modify any of these based upon visual inspection.

Good luck.