bought this '84 300d euro from a guy that never titled it, and lost the title aswell. man he bought it from died in that time. no name no number, basically.
some title expert tried shoving it through the state and kept getting paperwork for a 2001 mercedes.
basically, I'm about to just cut the vin and weld something else in.
unless there are other options????

Show proof of sale and file for a lost title. Nice looking car. Manual?

Not sure about other states but here in NH this would not be a problem as titles are not required for cars more than 15 years old. In fact, if you have a bill of sale you can register any old car and the state will even issue a title for it if you have a cop verify the vin on a short form. There's also some sort of form if you don't even have a bill of sale...some affidavit of ownership you need to have notarized.

Now, the problem arises when the former owner decides he's not dead but that some deadbeat relative went and sold the car out from under him or worse it was stolen and sold. While possession is 9/10 of the law, the last tenth is where it gets sticky. If he has the last valid title to the car in his name the car is still his. That's the risk you take...it could eventually get repossessed by its rightful owner.

I've seen stories about people who spent tons of money restoring cars only to find they had been stolen years earlier. After they put the time and money into them they went to register them and the car turned up on a stolen database. The former owners (or their insurance companies) are always glad to have a car back in better condition than it was when it was taken and there isn't a thing you can do to stop them.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

Can't help you with the title, but I'm sure this is not the first time ever this situation occurred. There are firms out there that can facilitate (as in run it through another state first). I did have the Euro VIN number issue. Clerk at DMV was out of her element (visualize a fish flopping). Took it through the Delaware State Police stolen cars unit, who immediately recognized as Euro, stamped off on it, and was titled. The standard Benz VIN is not in the same format as that required for USA sales, hence the issues you are seeing. I'd have it run through a nationwide stolen database first before spending any more on it, just in case.

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Hanno
'79 6.9 Sold (after 27 years)
'83 280SL, 5 spd.
'94 E320 Sdn. 5 spd conversion
'02 E320 Sdn.(on loan to mom!)
'87 300E (5 spd. conversion) Sold
'05 E500 Wagon

Ask a friendly law enforcement officer to run the registration by the VIN number. That will tell you the last registered owner. Most states also run NCIC at the same time (whether or not it is stolen). After explaining the situation to any remaining family members, they should be able to sign off on it for you (sign a statement that it was sold and that they have no interest in it. You should be able to get a title with a bill of sale.

Of course if it's 'hot' your up the creek w/o the paddle! Good luck.

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83 300SD 305k, A work in progress
81 VW 1.6L Rabbit P/U, No spark required

If thats a manual its just about perfect IMO. Well worth spending whatever takes. It all varies state to state, but essentially you can always claim abandoned car.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I wish
I have the manual tranny ready tho, in Belgium sitting in my friend's shed. with all the linkages etc... paid 50 euro's for it.

thanks a lot you guys.
I truly think I'm slightly screwed though. the guy I 'hired' does titles all the time. as in; he gets lost, stolen, abandoned, not paid for, whatever vehicle titles for a living. and HE CAN'T GET IT!!!
honestly, this car is nice and needs a good home. I'm willing to come to any state and register the sucker!!!
abandoned vehicle is very difficult now in TN.

how does this work?? the VIN is certainly German, it does not come up anywhere. It was a grey market import, a US soldier brought it back with him to the US... Carfax doesn't recognize it either...
WDB1231301A08****

Please post the entire VIN, only posting part of it is useless for us to help you find out if its valid.

DO NOT swap VINs. Not only can you get some good jail time but they will SEIZE AND DESTROY the car if it is found to have a tampered VIN plate and/or non-original VIN.

in NC, there is a power of attorney for titles, when the original cannot be found. have the seller sign a power of attorney making you the owner of the car without title, then have a new title made in your name.
pretty simple really.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

you'd better not steal it now, Forced!
wdb1231301a081427
by the way, there are many mb's being sold with changed VIN's. especially in Russia. But here too I'm sure. It's easy to do. It'll take me less than 3 hours
I like originality though, so I wanna go the right way.

I don't know how your state works, but here we can also file a lien sale to gain a title, since the last guy never put it in his name he won't be upset, & if the last reg'd owner truly is dead nobody can/will claim it. If they did they'd still have to pay you for "the lein" or prove you never had it. That was how I got title to the old finny I had. I just priced up a bill for storage for the 2 years it sat here, & the tow fee for my services hauling it here. Of course it well exceeded the car's value ...nobody came for it and 30 days later it was mine finally. That'll teach that guy to get flaky on me about getting me the title he promised and never showed up with...lol

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Chris
64 190D R.I.P.
80 240D W/617 engine -for sale
82 240D -for sale

man, if it's so easy then why am I paying this guy $75 for!!
again: the car was sold to this dude that I bought it of. the seller died. the buyer lost all contact and seller's name. so there's no way to get to the original title/ owner. and on top of that it was a grey market import!!!!
I'm so screwed.

let me drop by in nc with this issue. I'll get you a box of beck's.