Who first purchased my car?

[jszeman1]

How do you find out who took title to my 230 sl in 1963?

JohnS

[Cees Klumper]

Doesn't the data card give insight into the first selling dealer? Not sure about that. If it does, and that dealership still exists, then you can give them a try.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Naj ✝︎]

quote:Doesn't the data card give insight into the first selling dealer? Not sure about that. If it does, and that dealership still exists, then you can give them a try.

They won't tell you even if they know.[!]
Some data protection/privacy law!

naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[rwmastel]

John S.
Typically, service & repair records are the only way to know.  Dealerships don't give up the info.  I was lucky to find out because my car was originally sold in Italy and an Italian member on this Forum was able to acquire the ownership history from the Italian BMV.  I don't think your New York BMV would do that.  What history do you have, if any?

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[TheEngineer]

Upon inquiry,MB of North America wrote me e-mail that my car was sold in March 1969 at the MB dealership in Torrence,CA. I called them and was told that the place had changed owners and that records 37 years old were no longer available. The DMV in California wrote me back that there was no record of my car. Inteeresting! By contrast: A 1937 540K was taken as "Kriegsbeute" from a man in Prussia and exported to the US. The man reported the car as stolen. Recently, the car was put on the market by the owner in the US who had a valid title and was unaware of the history. The potential buyer checked the serial numbers with the MB factory in Stuttgart and found out. The police confiscated the vehicle and returned it to the original owner in Prussia.

'69 280SL,Signal Red,113044-12-007537,tired engineer, West-Seattle,WA

[Benz Dr.]

We have ownership history on all cars in Ontario but it only goes back about 25 years. If the car was imported from another county then you will only get the recent owners from that point.
 All you do is pay 20 bucks to get a vechical transfer package. This lists everyone who ever owned the car , mileage and where they live but nothing else. Sometimes you can simply look in a phone book and find their number to call them.

Leave them alone if they don't want to talk to you.

Dan Caron's
 SL Barn
benzbarn@ebtech.net
 slbarn.mbz.org
  1 877 661 6061