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  #1  
Old 03-24-2009, 10:40 PM
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Question When is a 78 not a 78?

My car the '1978' 450 SEL, is plated and registered as a 1978 Mercedes, it was also sold to me as such. I looked at the data plate and it says that it was manufactured 12/79. In my minds eye, anything after 09 of a year is the next year. Example. a can can be produced in January of a year and be that model year, but if it's manufactured in or after September of that year it's the next year's model? make sense? If I correct it my insurance premiums go up, and perhaps I won't have problems ordering parts?

EDIT: Oh yeah, my 1980 300SD was manufactured in 09 of 1979...so then my SEL must be a 1980 SEL.

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  #2  
Old 03-25-2009, 10:12 AM
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In most states in the USA; the year of the car on the title and paperwork is the year it was sold 'new'. Your 12/1979 car can not go back in time and be a 1978; there was obviously a clerical mistake somewhere in it's history.

I have owned at least three cars where the vin on the title didn't match the car; off by one number from the dealer. One car, the title was for an entirely different Mercedes; but yet that title kept getting reproduced following the car with new owners, wrong car..... I caught that one.
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  #3  
Old 03-25-2009, 10:44 AM
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Yes, your car should have been registered as a '79. No, there is no magic to the 9th month of a year as to which year the car really is. Some manufactures put out new year models very early in a calender year, as the next year. For many manufacturers, the change-over is around the month of July. Mistakes have been made at both dealers and motor vehicle departments. I don't think it is any longer an accepted practice for a dealer to title a vehicle by the calender year in which it is sold. They used to do that, incorrectly titling left-over previous model year cars as ones from the new model year. That is now illegal in most if not all states, AFAIK.
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  #4  
Old 03-25-2009, 11:21 AM
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yes my "73" 450 is really a 72, too many years ago I believe it was registered wrong
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  #5  
Old 03-25-2009, 01:22 PM
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This was a somewhat common practice at the time since the cars did not change from year to year. VW and Mercedes made 'running' changes on the assembly line, so they did not get all hung up in model year changes.

So leftover cars were titled in the year they were sold, and the Germans (here in the US anyway) used Jan. 1st as the change date.

One reason for this was to prevent dicounting a car since it was last years model. Another reason was Mercedes were selling like crazy and if you did not like the way the dealer did business you were free to go buy somethng else.

I once bought a 1948 Chevy pickup at a police auction and the paperwork that came with it said it was a 1984. It took weeks to get this changed, and I remember the city clerk asking me if I was sure that I had not really bought a 1984. I told her there were more than a few differences between the 1948 and the 1984 truck and most of them were easy to spot.

When the city finally admitted it made a typo they told me to come up with the correct VIN.

It turns out in 1948 a car could be titled under the true VIN, the body style number or the invoice number from the factory. I had to get the state police involved to help me find the VIN which was not displayed anywhere. It turns out the plate had rusted away and the cops had to show me where the secret VIN number was.

Anyway, if a future buyer gives you a hard time about this you can always point out that things were just done differently back then. The last few numbers of your VIN are what really counts on your title.
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  #6  
Old 03-25-2009, 01:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanzerSD View Post
I looked at the data plate and it says that it was manufactured 12/79.
If the data plate states manufactured in 12/79, I would almost bet it's a 1980 model.

Check the VIN # on the car with the classic car center to verify model year.
Make sure all the VIN#'s and chasis#'s on the car are identicle.

Another explanation would be fraudulantly altered data plate, as in previously stolen, salvaged, or wrecked. I've seen many examples of this especially on MB's.
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Last edited by 450slcguy; 03-25-2009 at 02:01 PM.
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  #7  
Old 03-25-2009, 02:49 PM
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Mercedes follows a July-June manufacturing year. Any car built in July of 79 is an 80 model car. What the DMV did is a good question.

As somebody else pointed out, there was an exception made for the 1972 cars being rebadged as 1973 models. That was done by the factory working with the dealerships and the cars got special 1973 US safety features added to them. Not sure what they changed, if anything on the build plates.

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  #8  
Old 03-25-2009, 03:54 PM
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That is what happened to mine , has a 72 build plate, imported late 72, titled as 73
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99 E320 THE Queen Mary - SOLD
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72 450SL, Pearl-SOLD
16 F350 6.7 Diesel -THOR
19 BMW X5 - Heaven on Wheels
14 38HP John Deere 3038E Tractor -Mean Green
84 300SD, Benjamin -SOLD
71 220 - W115-Libby ( my first love) -SOLD
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  #9  
Old 03-25-2009, 10:06 PM
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I know my 108 has a born-on date of 10/71, and it's a 1972 model year.
My Jeep, IIRC, is 5/1992, which makes it a 1992.

I think my Charger was built in 07/2005, a 2006 MY - I could be mistaken. I think I'll look at that later on!
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  #10  
Old 03-25-2009, 10:23 PM
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I checked all my VIN numbers and I have one CORRECTION to make, the car is made in 12/78. NOT 12/79, Sorry bout that. but still, does that mean it's a 79? I would really rather it be a 78. It's titled as a 78. if I re-title it as a 79, then I'm not exempt from safety inspections..
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  #11  
Old 03-27-2009, 02:54 PM
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If it's fine then just let it go. It depends on when the car was shipped and sold. I think mine is a 5/77 and it's titled as a 77 car.
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  #12  
Old 03-27-2009, 03:32 PM
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At the end of the day, the only thing that matters to a DOT is what is on the title/registration. If it says 1978, it is a 78 car that is exempt. If it says 1979 (even though built in Dec 1978), it is a 79 car and needs to be tested. If your registration says 1978, then case closed.

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  #13  
Old 03-27-2009, 03:38 PM
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If there is a pre '79 exemption then let it go, if you start asking around it may be more trouble than it's worth. CA has a 1975 exemption so the cats have to stay on.
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  #14  
Old 04-02-2009, 09:56 PM
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my car was built in 78 and titled as 1978, but my wife's old mitsubishi eclipse was registered in Feb 1989 as a 1990 car and was actually built in 12/1988.
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  #15  
Old 04-02-2009, 11:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cheapold280ce View Post
my car was built in 78 and titled as 1978, but my wife's old mitsubishi eclipse was registered in Feb 1989 as a 1990 car and was actually built in 12/1988.
Well, that's Japanese for ya!

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