Some help registering my SL from the USA...

[Alex e]

I bought a 230 SL in the USA earlier this year and am now wanting to register it with the DVLA. They insist on proof of year AND month of first registration. The US registration document only gives the year not the month. Is there a quick way to establish `officially` the month of first reg ? I contacted a Mercedes dealer enquiring about a data card but they didn`t seem to know what I was talking about. Presumably acquiring one takes some time, but even then I suspect it would only give the build date, not registration date ? Anyone else had this problem ?
Alex

[Chris_ATL]

Are you sure they need the registration date? I've registered an imported car in the UK (from the EU, so a bit different, but they needed manufacturing date

from the DVLA website:

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/registering-an-imported-vehicle


the original foreign registration certificate to show when the vehicle was manufactured (you will not get this back)

If you do not have the original foreign registration certificate, DVLA might accept other proof of the manufacture date, for example a letter from the manufacturer or a vehicle enthusiast club.

If the above is true then the data card would suffice... you can get them from the classic center for a fee (find the threads on here about that) but it might be in some of the documents you received... or a picture of the VIN plate?

[Mike Hughes]

If the metal identiplate issued to the original owner through the selling MB dealer is present with the owner's and service manuals, the warranty start date will be embossed on it.  Perhaps DVLA will accept that?

[JamesL]

You can find the month of manufacture from the build number (chassis number...) on our Tech Manual (under data cards). That's on the firewall on a metal plate

And you'll need proof of ownership (title) to get the Data Card itself though I don't recall (off the top of my head) that mine includes the month (I worked it out from the tech manual) but many of us have the card (or copy of it ) anyway so we know what came out of the factory. If you put in a request, you could ask them to confirm the month of ownership having first checked the tech manual - as in "I tihnk it was built in April 1965 but can you confirm?"

I think you need to ask the Classic Centre in Stuttgart or Irvine dig up the record. And send money...  see this thread https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=28920.msg209232#msg209232. That said you MAY get lucky with a different dealer - try Jacksons (as was) in Bournemouth. Cal the Classic Parts guys and ask them as they are more used to dealing with old MBs than your local

[mBdrvr]

I understand that no state will divulge that type of information because of privacy issues etc. However here in Pennsylvania the title has the first "Date PA Titled" printed on it but I have not seen that on other state titles.

[MikeSimon]

You can find the month of manufacture from the build number (chassis number...) on our Tech Manual (under data cards). That's on the firewall on a metal plate

 

That's interesting, James. The chassis number would give an indication based on math but not a firm date.
The data card has two fields, one is for the "delivery date" the other one is for a "registration date". Depending on which country the car was originally sold in, either field is filled in. In my case (Germany), the field "Zulassungsdatum" (registration date) is filled in and is the same as the date of first registration shown in the original title. These fields were filled in (stamped in ink) by the selling dealer or the Daimler Benz subsidiary which supplied the car from the factory.

[JamesL]

No date whatsoever on my datacard

That said, hopw would the DVLA know if you said 15th June and it was the 17th?

[PeterPortugal]

Alex,
I used the data card and you should be able to get one if you have documents proving you own the vehicle e.g. the nova certificate or similar.
Try Sandown Mercedes in Poole as they are a specialist Mercedes dealership for supporting classics. Look them up on the internet.

I did not have any other documentation stating the first registration. I didn't even know the country of first registration, let alone the date.

I got a copy of the data card through the classic centre in the USA, you could try these too.

Regards
Peter

[stickandrudderman]

Buried deep in the MB UK website is all you need to know about importing a car to the UK.
You will need a letter from MBUK for which they will charge.

[Pawel66]

In Poland (it is EU and you are still there, may be similarities or may be this tiny country to country variable legislation part) they just require a year of manufacturing and they write January 1 of that year as a date. You just need to push a bit to execute it ("I am not leaving this office until I have it done" or alike).

And it may be a bit of a vicious circle: will not get a datacard unless you have valid proof of ownership while sometimes you may need the data card to get this proof of ownership.

[sully]

You need to ask MB UK Homologation Department letter of origin and pay for,they will send you a letter so you can use it to register your car with DVLA

You need to speak to Mary Ankin,hope this helps

Sully

[PSB]

My car was imported from the USA to Ireland ( before I imported it to portugal ) and in Ireland they did what you (Pawel) said...just registered as 1st of January.

[harrycovert]

I have just registred a 250 sl with a US title.  The US title document only had the year 1967 .The DVLA put 01/01 1967  v5C ?
I think that the person doing yours was having a bad hair day.

[DouglasJFraser]

Just registered my 280SL. Build date of 12/69 on VIN plate

So registered as 01/01/1970 and hence I get an H plate for my car

No need for any letters from Mercedes or anything else - happy to help