MB240DBuyer

[Cross-posted from the W123 forum due to critical time constraints.]

First I want to say that I've checked all of the VIN lookup sites--including CARFAX and the Russian one--and have had no luck. I've searched this and other forums and have a partial decode figured out, but need more help.

Here's the situation:

There is an old 240D apparently abandoned in my neighborhood. I have tried unsusessfully to locate its owner and it is ticketed, marked, and about to be towed. I want to contact the owner before it is, as I had a 240D once and loved it.

The registration is two years out of date, there is no owner-identifiable information anywhere on or in the car or trunk (it's unlocked and one of the windows is down).

The DMV refuses to help even though I have the license number and (I think) VIN.

There is no VIN tag in the windshield, so I got the date (01/81) and VIN off the doorjam. It's hard to see, as it seems to be somewhat worn (?) and I have to contort my fat butt and bad knees just to see it at an angle. Perhaps there's another place I can find a VIN that I can read better?

I'm pretty sure that I copied it right, and what decoding info I've managed to piece together from Wikibooks and other sources seems to agree with what I've seen. However, the Russian site says basically "No such VIN" and I can't figure out which digit or digits may be wrong--and in what way.

Here's the VIN I copied down:

WDBAB2387BB24xxxx (last four withheld).

Can somebody tell me what I'm doing wrong and what this really is? As near as I can tell from the VIN, it is an:


Mercedes Benz

? Restraints

Deisel (Model Designation 23 ??)

Engine type "8" (although that could be a "B"--but that doesn't work either.)

Check Digit 7

Made in 1981

in Sindelfingen.

So, what's missing and are any of the above digits obviously incorrect?

I'd like to run a CarFAX on it to find the owner before it gets towed (anytime now), but I need a searchable VIN I can work with.

Thanks,

bob