Date of first registration in Germany

[280sl1968]

Is there a way I can establish the date of first registration of a 1968 280SL that spent the first years of its life in Germany?

I was wondering whether the vehicle registration authority in Germany might be able to disclose that information if I was to write to them with proof of ownership.


David

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Give it a try David, the Germans are great when it comes to records and paperwork. Is there no reference in your maintenance manual that came with the car?

[WRe]

Hi,
Have you tried to contact German vehicle authority: www.kba.de/cln_031/nn_130624/EN/Service__en/Contact/Contact__node__en.html?__nnn=true?
Do you have a data card of your car?
If you need help send me an email.
...WRe

[280sl1968]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

The link to a post with my data card is here:

http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=18587.0

As you can see, there are two dates and someone kindly provided a likely explanation as to why there is a January 1968 and a September 1968 date on it. One is probably delivery to the dealer and the other is sale to the customer.

Given that, I'm assuming the date of first registration might be the September 1968 date. That (probably) has implications for subsequently registering a car in the UK because the UK system at that time had a suffix registration system that followed A,B,C,D,E,F,G etc that changed with the year. The change of letter occurred on 1 August every year.

If my car was actually registered before 1 August 1968, it would have had a registration plate ending with an F. After 1 August 1968, it would end with the letter G.

So, I'm just anticipating problems establishing the true 'age' of the car for the purpose of getting it registered in the UK as to whether the Agency should issue an F or a G plate.

It probably doesn't sound material, but I know they can be picky about plates that show a car that is 'younger' than it really is (i.e. it is not allowed).

If there was some way of establishing from the original German agency when exactly this car was first registered in Germany, it might help.

WRe, thanks for the kind offer of assistance, I might be drawing on your German expertise very shortly.


David

[280sl1968]

Here is the response I got from the KBA in Germany:

Leider kann ich Ihnen nicht behilflich sein, da über Fahrzeuge die länger als 7 Jahre ausser Betrieb gesetzt waren/sind im zentralen Fahrzeugregister keinerlei Einträge mehr vorhanden sind, da diese nach 7 Jahren endgültig gelöscht werden.
Von daher ist eine Auskunft nicht mehr möglich.

Which, if I'm interpreting German correctly, means that old records are purged from their system after seven years so original registration information is no longer available. A little surprising given that most vehicle registration agencies at least have some way of knowing if a vehicle has previously been registered with them.

[WRe]

Hi David,
have you tried to contact van de Loo (info@automobile-vandeloo.de), maybe they still have some information of your car?
....WRe

[280sl1968]

WRe

I was actually just drafting a message to them. It's a long shot given the passage of time and changes in ownership of the business, but it's worth a try. Will let you know what I find.

Strangely, the UK vehicle registration agency (DVLA) is proposing putting an 'E' plate on the car which would normally be for cars registered between January - July 1967. Makes no sense for a 280 SL.


David