Factory build sheet
1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C230
Build WDBHA23G-W · 2.3L 4cyl · Sedan
VIN positions 1 through 8 read WDBHA23G and position 10 reads W. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.
Every C-Class whose VIN starts WDBHA23G and carries W in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 760 of them.
- Decoded Jul 7, 2026
- 760 known VINs
- 7 listed for sale now
Factory specification
As filed by Mercedes-Benz with NHTSA for this build. Fields the filing does not record are left out entirely — a missing row means no recorded value, not a missing feature.
Engine
- Displacement
- 2.3 L
- Cylinders
- 4
- Configuration
- In-Line
- Engine manufacturer
- MB
- Horsepower
- 148 hp
- Fuel type
- Gasoline
Body & chassis
- Body class
- Sedan/Saloon
- NHTSA body type
- PASSENGER CAR
- Doors
- 4
- Manufacturer
- MERCEDES-BENZ CARS
Weight rating
- GVWR class
- Class 1
- GVWR
- 6,000 lb or less
Gross vehicle weight rating is the loaded ceiling set by the manufacturer, not the car's own weight.
What this build asks today
Asking prices of live dealer listings decoded to this exact configuration — narrower than the trim-level figure, because every car counted here shares the same engine, transmission and drivetrain.
$4,995 median asking price · 13 listings · as of Aug 30, 2026
Too few listings to publish a price range — with 13 cars on the market, the cheapest and the dearest are single cars, not a spread. The median above is what they ask in the middle.
How this VIN pattern is read
A 17-character VIN carries two kinds of information: what was built, and which one it is. This page is the first kind — the nine highlighted positions.
| Positions | Characters | What they encode |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | WDB | MERCEDES-BENZ CARS · World manufacturer identifier |
| 4–8 | HA23G | Model, body style, engine and restraint system |
| 9 | × | Check digit — computed per vehicle, not part of the build |
| 10 | W | Model year — 1998 |
| 11 | × | Assembly plant |
| 12–17 | ×××××× | Production sequence number, unique to each vehicle |
760 vehicles carry this build
Every VIN we have decoded to WDBHA23G-W shares the specification above.
- 760 Known VINs
- 7 Listed for sale now
- 13 Priced listings
- $4,995 Median asking
Cars are filed by a fixed rule based on the VIN, so a car never moves between groups.
Neighboring configurations
Other factory configurations of the C-Class, each with its own build sheet. The set is fixed by the VIN patterns themselves, so it does not shuffle as prices or inventory move.
Keep going
Where this data comes from
Specification fields are decoded from the manufacturer's filings in the NHTSA vPIC database, keyed on VIN positions 1–8 and 10. We publish the filed values as they stand and leave out anything the filing does not record.
Prices are asking prices from 13 live dealer listings decoded to this build , last updated August 30, 2026 . They are what sellers ask, not what buyers paid.
Vehicle counts come from the 760 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.