1981 280 Se
 

I had become the proud owner of this 1981 280 SE (grey market) MB. I would like to get as much information as possible and am asking for your help.

VIN: WDB12602212039766

I have one too, same year. What state do you live in?

I'm in Vegas.

Does yours have power windows? Mine has them in the front only.

Mine was registered in Arizona and I'm in the process of trying to register it in California. It may be easier just to move to Arizona, though.

Well it could be silver blue metallic with grey interior. And the interior isn't leather or Tex.

So, is it still silver blue?

Hey, could you do mine, too? Its WDB12602212029649

So just what kind of blue interior do you have in the astral silver car. Comes up code 032. 100 and 200 are leather and tex don't remember the order.

Seems you have a few more options.

Looks like MB-Tex to me, unless they had some other kind of vinyl then. It sure isn't cloth, except for the door panel inserts.

It has a trailer hitch and rear self-leveling, and power windows front only.

In that era the possible blue interior codes look like 032,132,232, and 932. One should be tex, one leather, one velour, and some combo of cloth for the other.

Aha! That fire extinguisher mount on the driver's seat is from the factory! (code 682)

There was a older women here locally that drove a early 80s Mercedes 280SEL up until about a year ago. It may have been a 280SE, but I think it was a long wheelbase model if I recall- similar to the US 380SEL model, but being a European model- it had the small bumpers. I remember parking by that car one day- only to notice it is a manual shift car, with manual windows, no sunroof and cloth interior. Now I see her driving a new Mercedes sedan. I think it is a C or E Class. Not sure. Her old Mercedes was interesting indeed. I thought it was odd to see a very large, but very plain Mercedes, until I learned that is how some of the European models are.

Thanks, I appreciate the info. The online sources I've found say that 032 is "fabric," but the seats are definitely some kind of vinyl. The door inserts are cloth. The seats seem to be as old as the car, in good shape but sun-faded. If they were replaced, it was quite a while ago.