VIN check - Help!!

[CD_NY]

I posted this message earlier but got no response. I'm really in need of help as I'm thinking of buying this used Mercedes soon.

*********

I’m thinking about purchasing a 92 400SE and I’d like to get the service history from Mercedes. I called Mercedes Benz of Manhattan and was told that unless I am the owner and can verify ownership by showing the title, there was no way I could obtain the records. Is this true? The reason I want the records in the first place is to see them BEFORE I buy the car. Can anyone out there help? I’ve got the VIN number and would be more than happy to e-mail it.


Thanks

[BENZ-LGB]

CD-NY:

Why do you think that the dealer has an obligation to provide you with the service records of a car that you do not own, absent the owner's permission? I'd be extremely angry if either my mechanic or my dealer provided information about any of my car's service history to a stranger w/o my prior, written permission. If the owner won't give you permission to check the car's service history there is nothing that you can do about it. Plain and simple, end of discussion. The dealer has no obligation to you, only to the car's owner. Maybe the owner is trying to hide something, in which case your best bet is to look for another car. But under no circumstances should a dealer give out that information w/o the owner's permission.

You may, however, run a CarFax report. It won't tell you anything about the car's service record, but it will give you a car's salvage history (if any) and it will also tell you whether the car ever failed an annual smog inspection (which could give you some hint about the condition of the car's fuel-ignition system).

Also, you may ask the owner to let you take the car to a diagnostic mechanic of your choosing who can evaluate the car and see if there are any problems. I trust and rely on my MB mechanic and before buying a car I take it to him for his A-OK. Ultimately, an inspection by a mechanic that you know and trust is probably a far better indicator of a car's future reliability than service records. Again, if the owner won't let you do that, walk, run, away from that car.

The above is my own $0.02 worth.

[Jim Anderson]

I think thats just their first line of defense. I bought a 1991 that was originally purchased from Mercedes Benz of Manhattan that the original owner had lost all the records. When I called them they said they don't keep the records more than two years. So even if you could, they may not even have anything.

[CD_NY]

Thanks for the information. I ran a car fax report and learned the mileage was correct but it failed two NYC emissions inspections, one in ’98 and the other in ’99. It looks like it was corrected in ’99 at 107,000 miles, which would be about 23k miles ago. After I posted this I got the name of a mechanic who works at an MB dealership and he was good enough to run a full report on the VIN. I’m going to meet with him tonight and go over it. I’m suppose to pick up the car this Saturday but before I do, I’ve arranged for Lemon Busters (anyone use these folks?) to do a full systems check. If it passes with minimum problems, I’ll buy it.


Thanks again.