Previous Owner(s) and such.

[Eminent]

I always have been very curious what kind of person(s) drove my 280SEL before i did. I very like to know the history of the car.
I know it's a Cailifornia based car and that it's been brought to the Netherlands in 1999, but thats all.
Are there ways to find out more of the history? What did you guys do to know what happend in the past?
Thanks.
Rini.

[Frank Mallory]

If you know anyone who has access to California's DMV records, such as someone in law enforcement, they can look up the VIN number in the Cal. system. It's a long shot... but you might also Google both your VIN number and the old Calif. license plate number. I have had some success in this "grasping at straws" technique.
   You CAN request an ownership history detail from the Cal. DMV, but you need to prove a legal "need" to do so.

You might also post your VIN number here in your post. That way it becomes Google-searchable, and perhaps in the future a previous owner might find you as he's looking to see whatever happened with his old car

[Frank Mallory]

Rini; It occurs to me that if you're really serious about finding the previous history, you best bet would be to hire a professional title service. Google "California Title Service" and many of these companies such as http://www.getnewtitle.com and others.
   These are of course "for-profit" companies, and they are selling a service: information.  I believe this would be the best path for the ownership history you seek.

[Eminent]

Thanks both for your answers. I am curious indeed, but to pay for info is not what i'm gonna do.
I wrote an email to http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/heritage/events_community/overview (because it's a Mercedes classic center in CA) and the very next hour i got a reply.
No info about PO's but a mail with a picture from the datacard and the meaning of the numbers on this card.
So my search go on when i have nothing else to do, it is not a must.
Thanks again.