[W126 Coupe] [w126 coupe] is it a Euro or a US ?

[Mister McGoo]

Hi Yousef,
 
Time was Mercedes advertised that safety is the greatest priority and hallmark of the company.  Not so.  Mercedes Benz, like everybody else, makes cars to conform to the regulations of the customer country.
 
Japanese editions closely physically resemble the European... headlights, bumpers etc.
 
Two grades of cloth interiors were offered, the lowest level (fairly plain... and ugly) and wool.  I believe that only the top level was available on an S class.  The wool interior was/is more expensive than leather. 
 

>From the photo I think a couple of things are wrong.  The headlights do not appear to be european although it is difficult to tell in the photo.  Is there a headlight height adjustment wheel beside the headlight switch on the dash?   Typically particularly after 1990, Japanese cars have side marker lights on the front fenders to enable a person coming up beside you to see the turn signal, a feature that I believe is law there.  Unlike N. America, airbags were an option in Japan.

 
The most significance differences are in the electronics which may be a problem (for N. Americans particularly).   For example, the ignition module, fuel pump relay may be different than the N. American.  Regarding emissions control, the Japanes cars have a dash warning light "Exhaust Temp" (not O2).  The emission control systems are different.
 
May be other things I haven't thought of yet.
 
-Bellamy
 
 



Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:05:16 +0400
From: usef4188 at gmail.com
To: mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com
Subject: [W126 Coupe] [w126 coupe] is it a Euro or a US ?


hey all
 
I just needed some opinions on this
 
I have done some research on buying an 560SEC and the most important aspect was to buy a Euro 560SEC. I figured that the best way to check if the car is Euro or US is via the chasis number. 
 
So i bought one!! the chasis # starts with 126 and continues to have another maybe 5 digits or so (i think there is one or two letters). From a few blogs and forums i understood that this would be a Euro 560SEC. I would like your opinions. I am having a hard time judging from the headlights. Also there is no  "S" and "W" switch beside the gear lever.
 
Basically i bought the car based on the almost flawless exterior and good interior (fabric). I have done some servicing on it (fluids filters pads etc) she drives great everything seems to work (except cruise control).. reached 170 km\hr with no problems. 
 
1989 560SEC 
135000 km
Imported from Japan
 
Thanks
Yousef
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