SL/R129 VIN question - MBWorld.org Forums

Jun 21, 2011 | 02:17 PM

racestar

Thread Starter

Newbie

Joined: Jun 2011

Posts: 1

Likes: 0

2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

VIN question

Can someone help me decode this VIN? I am concerned it may be gray market:

WDB1290761F172426

Thanks!

Jun 22, 2011 | 08:31 AM

BJonesFL

Senior Member

Joined: Nov 2004

Posts: 282

Likes: 3

From: Bradenton, FL

'87 560SL Sold, '99 SL500 For Keeps

You might try this site...free US VIN decoding-

http://www.decodethis.com/Default.aspx

Aug 18, 2013 | 09:16 AM

s12obh

Newbie

Joined: Jun 2008

Posts: 9

Likes: 0

1998 SL500 R129

Does not work

Quote:

Originally Posted by BJonesFL

You might try this site...free US VIN decoding-

http://www.decodethis.com/Default.aspx

Tried to decode my VIn from Vin/Chassis/Frame no with details in V5 reg document, input 3 times in case I made a mistake. Does not work.

Aug 18, 2013 | 08:19 PM

BJonesFL

Senior Member

Joined: Nov 2004

Posts: 282

Likes: 3

From: Bradenton, FL

'87 560SL Sold, '99 SL500 For Keeps

Quote:

Originally Posted by s12obh

Tried to decode my VIn from Vin/Chassis/Frame no with details in V5 reg document, input 3 times in case I made a mistake. Does not work.

IT WORKS. I don't know what you're talking about in the doc reference you cite, and your profile doesn't contain your location so please complete it.
The decoding service is for the US only. As such, it requires the US VIN format, 17 characters (numbers/letters). Anything else will fail.

Last edited by BJonesFL; Aug 18, 2013 at 11:59 PM. Reason: correction

Aug 20, 2013 | 12:00 PM

cliffyk

Member

Joined: Jul 2013

Posts: 126

Likes: 5

From: Saint Augustine, FL

1998 SL500

That is a European ISO 3779 format VIN. It does not seem to decode properly on most VIN sites however the Russian parts site shows it as follows:

A 1998 SL600.

The ISO 3779 VIN format decodes WDB1290761F172426 as:

WDB = World Daimler-Benz
129076 = the vehicle descriptor
1F172426 = the vehicle identifier

Aug 20, 2013 | 12:38 PM

MB-Dude

Super Member

Joined: Aug 2005

Posts: 591

Likes: 9

From: Covington, WA

'96 SL600, '05 S55 AMG, '06 C230

Now that the VIN has been decoded, I wouldn't be as concerned about a grey market 1998 as I would be for a grey market 1978. Things have changed dramatically over time. Also, it's possible that the 1998 was simply imported by someone who purchased the SL through a European dealership. (Not to be confused with the No. Am. version of European factory delivery.) It may simply be a legitimate Euro-sold SL that has migrated to the US.
Cheers,
Jeff