w110 230 vin and title does not fully match?

[olidur8]

Hi Everyone,
I recently purchased a 1967 Mercedes w110 230 fintail from a California mechanic shop, I bought it for a friend to export to him overseas.

I trusted the seller and asked him to read out the last 6 number of the vin on the title while I check the chassis plate on the car which matches......

everything went fine and smooth, the title was transferred and exported.

the problem occurred when the car arrived overseas, the customs said that the vin and title does not match !!

They send me a photo, the vin on the car is 110.011-12-xxxxxx
and on the title is 230xxxxxx, the rear six numbers match but not the first few numbers which is the model number.

My question is where can I find the number 230xxxxxx on the car? or is it a mistake because back then there were no vin numbers??
If so, how did the DMV issue a 230xxxxxx number since they have to check the car and according to what number on the car?

The car is released, but cannot be registered overseas.
has anyone have this kind of issue?

[Mike D]

Without a physical inspection it can be a real nightmare, if not impossible, to have a title altered from the original.

Don't know which country you are dealing with but the only way in the US you can do it is to file for abandoned vehicle, have physical inspection, usually post a bond, pay for title search, attempt to contact previous owner and wait 30-60 days to actually register/title the vehicle. Such fun, eh?

[Shortsguy1]

Someone at the CA DMV messed up at some point and you are going to pay the price for their mistake. What a headache.

As Mike D said, it will totally depend on where you live and the laws there. If I were in CA and had this problem, I would do a Bill-of-Sale for that vehicle and pretend like that pink slip never existed. The car is not technically in the DMV system because they had the VIN wrong, so if someone tried to register it, it wouldn't be a big deal. So I guess I would look into how the laws where-ever you are deal with a car which has never been registered before. Trying to get that title changed will be very hard, so it might be easier to start over as if it was a barn-find car which has been off the road for years.

[Idle]

I knew a guy that ran into this on a 1948 Chevy. The VIN was nothing like the one on the car and it was an error on the part of the state somewhere or another. The number on the title was found on the car but it was a body number or something, not the VIN.

So he just contacted the DMV and told them his story. He was able to show them photos of the VIN and the title and a bit of research on how titles were issued back in the late 40's.

Someone somewhere took that title as good and then it just got passed along. You will have to untangle it but it can be done with sworn statements and what-not.

It might be best to travel to your state DVM office if this is possible and talk to someone there. That is where this is going to wind up before this is over.

[Carpenterman]

Look under the air cleaner on top of the passenger body rail. The correct number should be stamped there.

[Baxterdown]

This seems to me as an easy number mixup. All the information is there.

It appears that in the title, they took the 230 from the VIN plate and put it in front of the vin number on the title. Everything else appears to match. You can try to explain it in that simple manner to the customs in the foreign country. In the end, all the numbers are there and they all match.

Jose

[ejboyd5]

Is it possible that the customs office is looking for a little grease to make the wheels turn smoothly?

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by ejboyd5

Is it possible that the customs office is looking for a little grease to make the wheels turn smoothly?

I think not. You are going to have to explain this with paperwork showing that the car had a history with that VIN. The vin on the title is wrong, which is common. I replied on how to fix it in your benzworld thread.

[BWhitmore]

I had the same issue in my 1983 300TD wagon. The VIN plate on the windshield did not match the VIN plate number on the door post. I only noticed the problem when I had the windshield replaced and the installer broke off the metal windshield plate. I was able to find a fellow in Georgia who was able to exactly reproduce the metal windshield VIN plate (it is attached with a rivet by the factory) and all is good. When the car was initially registered by me (the 2nd owner) at the auto club, they checked the windshield VIN plate and recorded that number of the new registration and title. After having the new windshield VIN tag made (matching the number on the door post) I then took the car to the auto club (California) to have the VIN number on the title and registration changed so that they match the VIN numbers on the car. By the way, I had a local trophy shop make the blank windshield VIN tag and then sent it to the fellow in Georgia to have the numbers stamped. The only minor glitch remaining is when I order parts from the classic center I need to use the original non matching VIN number. I bought this car from the original owner and was also able to check what happened with the original selling dealer (Stahl Motors in Monterey, Ca) and they could not figure it out. The car has never been in a body shop. Even Tom Hanson can't figure out what happened.

[gmog220d]

I've seen the same thing done to a 1972 W115 220D's title owned by a fellow forum member, Phil, no longer in New Mexico. The VIN on the car's New Jersey title was "220" plus the serial number, like the W110 in the original post, and it was giving him trouble in his attempt to transfer the title to New Mexico. He finally got it sorted out with the folks in NM, but I forget the details. An inspection was part of it.

I wonder if both cars were originally, or at some point titled in the same state where alteration of the VIN suited some purpose. Not that it was a good idea.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Originally Posted by olidur8

Hi Everyone,
I recently purchased a 1967 Mercedes w110 230 fintail from a California mechanic shop, I bought it for a friend to export to him overseas.

I trusted the seller and asked him to read out the last 6 number of the vin on the title while I check the chassis plate on the car which matches......

everything went fine and smooth, the title was transferred and exported.

the problem occurred when the car arrived overseas, the customs said that the vin and title does not match !!

They send me a photo, the vin on the car is 110.011-12-xxxxxx
and on the title is 230xxxxxx, the rear six numbers match but not the first few numbers which is the model number.

My question is where can I find the number 230xxxxxx on the car? or is it a mistake because back then there were no vin numbers??
If so, how did the DMV issue a 230xxxxxx number since they have to check the car and according to what number on the car?

The car is released, but cannot be registered overseas.
has anyone have this kind of issue?

The title document has the wrong number on it. You will not find that number on the car. There are three possible ways to resolve this: File a request for reassigned VIN number with the state of California, which would probably require a physical inspection by law enforcement officer or State Inspector; Or have an official in the country provide a waiver.

The vehicle chassis code for a 1967 230 is W110. 230 was nomenclature related to engine size being 2.3 liter. The only place to find 230 on the car would be the chrome number badge on the trunk. The other numbers stamped on the vehicle will start with 110.011.

The overseas official may understand that California made a mistake because NO Mercedes VIN could be the number on that title. If the last six numbers match the VIN on the car and last six on document it is an error by a previous title transfer.

The last possibility is finding out when and where the mistake occurred. It is likely that the error was made during the last title transfer. You may be able to ask California to find the last title transfer to correct the error.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by JeffreyNMemphis

The last possibility is finding out when and where the mistake occurred. It is likely that the error was made during the last title transfer. You may be able to ask California to find the last title transfer to correct the error.

I think it much more likely that the VIN error occurred the FIRST time the car was ever registered anywhere in the United States. And California isn't going to correct it without a vehicle inspection, so that isn't going to happen....

[ScooterABC]

On a side note, we had a 1957 Volvo P1900 that had the VIN of 0059. That's it. Just 0059. That's how it appeared on the CA Title, that's how it appeared on the car. It did happen to be car number 59 of a total run of 67... What a horrible car that was.

[DHW]

I hope your issue is resolved but if it isn't I would be in contact with your steamship line or freight forwarder and ask for more free time. You do not want to be paying demurage while you get this sorted out.

[olidur8]

Originally Posted by JeffreyNMemphis

The title document has the wrong number on it. You will not find that number on the car. There are three possible ways to resolve this: File a request for reassigned VIN number with the state of California, which would probably require a physical inspection by law enforcement officer or State Inspector; Or have an official in the country provide a waiver.

The vehicle chassis code for a 1967 230 is W110. 230 was nomenclature related to engine size being 2.3 liter. The only place to find 230 on the car would be the chrome number badge on the trunk. The other numbers stamped on the vehicle will start with 110.011.

The overseas official may understand that California made a mistake because NO Mercedes VIN could be the number on that title. If the last six numbers match the VIN on the car and last six on document it is an error by a previous title transfer.

The last possibility is finding out when and where the mistake occurred. It is likely that the error was made during the last title transfer. You may be able to ask California to find the last title transfer to correct the error.

Yep, went to the DMV and they would not change the title unless an inspection....

they said they first documented the title back in 2002...