AMG Classic Certification Program x Patina Collective

[DanielHassan]

We at the Patina Collective have been keeping busy with our Museum now open in Fort Lauderdale, but we wanted to take the time to give you an outline how we recently got more than 40 Pre Mergers certified as authentic by AMG Classic Center (Affalterbach)

It is important to realize that Certificates are only being given to cars that have verified engine work.

Vehicles that are Aerodynamic package only DO NOT currently qualify for the program even if those enhancements were done in Affalterbach

In our most recent YouTube post you can watch the full process but basically it involves up to two phases working hand in hand with AMG Classic and MKB.

1. Archival Research - By working within the AMG archive we found that about approximately 30% of pre-merger cars can be fully validated through this archival process alone when accompanied by owner submitted photos. Cars that also VIN as AMG cars (C43, SLS AMG etc) fall under this category for the most part.

2. Technical Inspection - This involves a technical inspection by a verified inspection organization. Currently the team at MKB are the only ones doing these inspections and they are fantastic. Not only do they possess the technical knowledge but have a secondary archival network from engine builders who worked at AMG to validate many of these cars.

We at Patina are offering to help collectors take advantage of this new and relatively quiet program and we believe this will dramatically add value and certainty in the market and are thrilled AMG Classic selected us as their pilot partner for the certification process.

All costs in the program are passed through and Patina offers this as a service free of charge to the collector community in order to bring certainty and value to the market.

If you would like to know if your vehicle(s) qualify for the program as well as an indication of cost and timing please send an email with the following attached:

certificate@patinacollective.com

Please Provide:

1. A short description of the car and its history as you currently know it.

2. The Vin Number

3. Photos of the cars exterior, interior and ENGINE BAY. If engine numbers and/or AMG branding are easily seen please provide as well.

4. Any paperwork or documentation on the vehicle (original import paperwork or any AMG paperwork)

Once again currently this is for cars that may have engine enhancements only. This includes cars with cams.

I can try to help answer any questions on here about the program generally but not about specific vehicles.

Thanks so much guys and hope you want to particiate!

 

[WDB748372]

Is Patina Collective a certified AMG business partner, like MKB, or are you simply contacting MKB on behalf of the vehicle owner?

When you mention free of charge, are you referring to your service as free of charge or do owners not have to pay even the 700€ requested by MKB?

I needed to provide the engine serial number, VIN, and proof of ownership. Why do you need to collect any paperwork/documentation, vehicle description, vehicle history, photos etc.? In what way is this information used to help facilitate the process? Seems like unnecessary data collection to me.

 

[maw1124]

I'm not sure how any of this is even marketed to be happening without @jhodg5ck much less actually happening. But OK I'll play along.

Continue.

maw

 

[DanielHassan]

Is Patina Collective a certified AMG business partner, like MKB, or are you simply contacting MKB on behalf of the vehicle owner?

When you mention free of charge, are you referring to your service as free of charge or do owners not have to pay even the 700€ requested by MKB?

I needed to provide the engine serial number, VIN, and proof of ownership. Why do you need to collect any paperwork/documentation, vehicle description, vehicle history, photos etc.? In what way is this information used to help facilitate the process? Seems like unnecessary data collection to me.

Thanks for asking!

We are solely a conduit to the program and have no official financial interest.

Our mission is just to see the market grow and we encourage anything positive that brings more surety to the market.

MKB is our partner in the effort and as mentioned above their physical presence during inspection of certain cars is critical.

Thanks for the reply and feel free to PM or email me.

Daniel@patinacollective.com

 

[DanielHassan]

I'm not sure how any of this is even marketed to be happening without @jhodg5ck much less actually happening. But OK I'll play along.

Continue.

maw

We think Jonathan is incredible. He actually is doing a 7.3S engine for us as we speak. We hope that as the AMG program gains more demand they will bring on more centers of excellence like Blue Ridge.

 

[R129 UK]

Thanks for asking!

We are solely a conduit to the program and have no official financial interest.

Our mission is just to see the market grow and we encourage anything positive that brings more surety to the market.

MKB is our partner in the effort and as mentioned above their physical presence during inspection of certain cars is critical.

Thanks for the reply and feel free to PM or email me.

Daniel@patinacollective.com

With respect, you didn’t actually answer any of the questions directly, you just responded with a load of corporate jargon.

 

[DanielHassan]

With respect, you didn’t actually answer any of the questions directly, you just responded with a load of corporate jargon.

Thank you for letting me know you needed clarification!

If I had to sum it up simply we are non profit expediters for the certificate program. We work with MKB to provide them a simple handoff for US customers for the AMG Certification Process.

This summer AMG Classic and MKB spent about 15 days in our museum selecting us as the pilot partner.

After doing this effort for more than 40 of our own vehicles getting AMG Classic Certification we have decided to offer assistance in getting the certification as a service to the collector community.

The information we ask for is what is needed to make an assessment of viability for certification and whether a vehicle needs physical inspection.

As you can imagine it’s hard to do archival work on a car without a VIN. Photos of the engine bay verify the car motor hasn’t been changed since AMG install etc etc.

If you want a deep dive or to see what the certificates look like we have a 10 minute video on the process on our Youtube.

Cheers!

 

[R129 UK]

Is Patina Collective a certified AMG business partner, like MKB, or are you simply contacting MKB on behalf of the vehicle owner? Yes or No?

When you mention free of charge, are you referring to your service as free of charge or do owners not have to pay even the 700€ requested by MKB? Yes or No?

I needed to provide the engine serial number, VIN, and proof of ownership. Why do you need to collect any paperwork/documentation, vehicle description, vehicle history, photos etc.? In what way is this information used to help facilitate the process? Please explain.

@DanielHassan these are the questions I was referring to.

I do not own an AMG Merc but I am planning to visit the museum if I am in the area so some transparency would be good for all in my opinion.

Thanks.

 

[R129 UK]

Here is a recent YouTube video on this topic:

 

[AMG5PT4]

I submitted my certification request yesterday for my 1984 500SEL 5.4L AMG. I will post the details of my certification process with MKB. Since I have copies of the original AMG Rechnung (invoice), complete ownership history and detailed pics of engine internals (50.1 cams, solid lifters valve train, ported heads, original Nural 98.5mm pistons) the certification of my W126.037 should be relatively straightforward.

This will be an important piece of provenance for my SEL that I have been wanting for 15 years. Having Erhard Melcher’s name associated with MKB and AMG Classics issuing the certification is critical.

 

[DanielHassan]

I submitted my certification request yesterday for my 1984 500SEL 5.4L AMG. I will post the details of my certification process with MKB. Since I have copies of the original AMG Rechnung (invoice), complete ownership history and detailed pics of engine internals (50.1 cams, solid lifters valve train, ported heads, original Nural 98.5mm pistons) the certification of my W126.037 should be relatively straightforward.

This will be an important piece of provenance for my SEL that I have been wanting for 15 years. Having Erhard Melcher’s name associated with MKB and AMG Classics issuing the certification is critical.

An amazing and historically relevant car. The 5.4s are such a critical part of the story of AMG.

We acquired one two years ago at Monterey that sounds very similar (including the Rechnung) and it's by far one of my favourites.

We had it Certified with MKB and AMG Classics and we agree the Certificate is going be the cherry on top for early AMG cars.

Please keep us updated.

 

[2phast]

It seems to me that any AMG built factory car should qualify. Many people ordered a full AMG modified vehicle, with every option EXCEPT the motor. I have even seen wide body kit 300CE's done this way. Body kit, wheels, suspension, brakes, exhaust etc. Excluding these cars seems to be a very large oversight IMO. Especially on vehicles where the AMG options can be verified by decoding the VIN

 

[DanielHassan]

It seems to me that any AMG built factory car should qualify. Many people ordered a full AMG modified vehicle, with every option EXCEPT the motor. I have even seen wide body kit 300CE's done this way. Body kit, wheels, suspension, brakes, exhaust etc. Excluding these cars seems to be a very large oversight IMO. Especially on vehicles where the AMG options can be verified by decoding the VIN

We agree and hope that into future ALL AMG cars, including non engine cars, are included as long as the build order can be verified. We have seen many 300CE's with amazing widebody applications as well without engine work.

 

[ace10]

I believe that a story about a scarf blowing in the wind through the Alps should be sufficient.

 

[BRN9121]

Very cool program. I am guessing that you guys are certified for the US market only?

 

[nocfn]

Al That is awesome. How many parts off that find made it to yours? You can go offline with it if you like...

 

[DanielHassan]

Very cool program. I am guessing that you guys are certified for the US market only?

We are happy to assist globally.