I'm sorry to sound facetious but I highly doubt the car was shipped back to Sindelfingen(sp?) to be repainted.

I don't think the service department of a dealership will take in a car for a repaint unless it's warranty work or part of a repair. And at that they probably farm it out.

Of course top quality paint jobs are available.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD