UK W113 on a '72 "L" Registration?

[Danesgate]

I have seen a W113 in the UK on an "L" suffix registration - which were issued from 1 August 1972 to 31 July 1973.

I understood that W113 were sold until 1971, when the W107 took over (and I have seen a "K" registered W107).

How would a W113 end up on an "L" plate?

Are there many W113s on L plates?

OK - Question just for the UK members, but I am confused?! - Unlikely to be a dealer late-registering the vehicle, surely?

[gnj588d]

Hi, I think the last reg for pagoda SL was J reg the last Pagoda was made 23.02.71 some 18 months before the first L suffix,the dealer may have baught it for himself then had to sell.Just a hunch

                                   Regards Mike. Liverpool

[Danesgate]

I have now been told that the DVLA (or whatever it was called then) were not too hot about checking the correct age of a vehicle that was being re-registered (and there was no Q-plate then), so many personal import cars from pre 1980 got odd registrations.
Often these were as if the car was new at the time it arrived in the UK, despite it having been used abroad for years before.

[AGT]

Not that scientific.

For a while the UK vehicle licensing authority wasn't too fussed what plate went on a car that was imported or re-registered. Then they realised that because the letter on the plate aged the vehicle and could mislead a buyer they introduced new rules to the effect that if you can't prove the age of the vehicle in order to have the correct plate  assigned you get a "Q" registration. "Q" has, however, come to mean kit car and is not a good plate to have. When I imported my 230 earlier this year I used the chassis number table from this site to persuade the licensing authority to put a 1966 "D" plate on my car. I failed to schmooze them into giving me a 230 number to go with it though.

I noticed the "L" plate too - was it on the silver car with the great photos from a couple of weeks back?

Regards
Andrew

[Naj ✝︎]

Can only confirm what's already been said.
I have a '68 280SL with a 'K' plate that was brought back from Kenya.
Slight differences from a UK spec. of the time.

naj

68 280SL