I have the sales receipt and vin # of an old family car that we sold in 1978, is there a way to find out what happened to that car by tracing the VIN number?
i think your best bet would be a family member or friend in a police department........ just because it's far more common than having a friend working in a DMV.. (that'd be the 2nd best bet)
It was a dk. green 1973 Pontiac Lemans, sold in Livingston, NJ in 1978. Was somewhat rusty when sold, probably in a junkyard but who knows? Always wanted to find out.
Try a NJDMV search. I did, and was able to trace my car back to 1978 registrations (when it entered NJ). I did the search in 1999.
I have considerable experience with this topic as a former insurance fraud investigator. The good news is that most states now have a formal freedom of information process to compel release of the information from that particular state's database. Since you have the VIN and know one of the states involved, you should be able to get the info ... eventually. The real issue is how to obtain the info in the least number of steps (read: time and expense) as possible. There are a myriad of pay services for the records searches you will need, but my experience with those services is really not that positive compared to the info I could get myself either through the state agency directly or through other "channels". You have the VIN and a definite time frame ... that's half the battle right there. Most all states have their internal vehicle records organized into a current and archived (historical or not currently registered) databases. You need to be able to search both or at least be able to confirm that a request for info on a particular VIN will search both databases completely. A lot has changed since the late '70's in terms of titling/registration procedures and records ... like privacy laws, but I would be very surprised if you could not find the info you seek because the freedom of information laws allow release of the information as long as the Requestor is identified and properly completes the request. My experience with these searches on the east coast means that you are probably going to be dealing with multiple jurisdictions or states because of the greater number of states in a small geographic area. People on the east coast and their lives just necessarily involve crossing into 2, 3 or 4 times as many states as living in the western states ... just my experience. So, a request from NJ to complete a title search of current and archived records is where you must start. NJ Motor Vehicle Commission will conduct a search if you write them with a specific request to search for the VIN of the vehicle and verify your identity as prior owner ... so says the NJ MVC Rep I just spoke to. I know other states have a specific form to fill out for this info. The results may show that the title was surrendered to another state which gives you another link in the chain of title and another search to complete in that state. Most states also record when a titled vehicle is sold for salvage (insurance total loss or junk yard scraps the car) in which case you have the ultimate answer to your quest. I will tell you two other things. First on the bad side, most of the older junked cars in salvage yards were crushed and sold for scrap in the mid-to-late 90's because scrap metal prices reached a historical high (and are still fairly high today). So a junk yard facing selling a part from a car here and there was far more likely to just crush the car and get the cash for all that metal 10 or 15 years ago. This is when the supply for used parts of our cars really waned. But, on the other hand I am one to encourage you on your quest because I was able to do some years ago exactly what you are trying to do now and found both the original owner of my GS and the original selling dealer. The dealer (from a small town and still owned by the family) sent me the actual handwritten sales agreement from his records which was sitting in a warehouse for 30 years. Never say never. Ken
Some states will have nothing. My car came out of WV (to NJ) in 1978 - they have no records :rant: My car was sold new in Ohio (Dec 1969) - they have no records :rant:
Marco: Make sure that the subject state checks any archived database as many states do not automatically do this and I have many experiences with state personnel not checking both (go to a supervisor). Second, most states have an RPO procedure which stands for "Registration Purposes Only" which is used to register a vehicle in one state for operational purposes (and residency) when the title to the vehicle is held in different state (where the vehicle was purchased and/or where a loan for the vehicle originated). RPO's may never make a record of ownership in "title" database because the RPO state never issued a title, rather only a registration and these are not the same. This can be one explanation. Some states do not honor RPO's and some do. Since each state is responsible for its own jurisdiction and titling statutes vary, it will be a hodge-podge of procedures at some level. Another explanation could be due to variances in title laws in different states, particularly if the time frame you are searching for coincides with the earlier years of the car's life. Titling laws vary in different states. Some states send the physical title to the individual owner (person/s) and a lien record to the lienholder even when a loan is present while other states (the majority) send the physical title to the lienholder (not the individual) and the individual will never see the title until the loan/lien is satisfied, thus leaving that individual owner no title to use in a state s/he moves to. This can cause gaps in a title history search. And then there are a few states like (if I remember correctly) GA or AL that for a time did not even issue titles for vehicles (Wow!!!) because vehicles were essentially treated like most other personal property. Maybe you already have, but I would consider reconstructing the chain of title from the other end (from MSO, Manufacturer's Statement of Origin) by trying to locate the state of the original selling dealer (Sloan or Wayne's reports) and come forward chronologically. Also, a person may have simply purchased a car new in Ohio and drove it back home to Indiana. One major reason I am SO skeptical about the initial lower-level explanations from DMV personnel saying "NO, can't do that." or "Nope, no records of that car." is that I have been involved in many cases where titled property was recovered multiple decades later and state and federal authorities I have worked with NEVER had a problem identifying the record of a VIN or license plate ... even when the car is pulled out of a river some 20+ years after it went missing. Ken
Ken, I'm looking at a different angle of this type of search. I have two vehicles - my 65 GS and a 66 Impala. I have paperwork from new for both of these cars, and they are both from CA. So I have the original owners names and addresses. I have been unable to find the original owners (assuming deceased here) or anyone that may be related to them. I know you can search public records online for a fee. Would that be the way to go? Any advice would be wonderful. I'm thinking it would be really neat if I could find members of the family that had photos of these cars from back then. Mark
You are correct about Alabama. They didn't title cars back "in the day." I'm not sure when they started. I know the name of the original owner of my Alabama car, thanks to some original paperwork. I also know who I bought it from and who he bought it from. But there's a big gap in between, thanks to Alabama.
