Hi all, here's the deal. I want to know how many former owners my Electra has had and if the mileage was ever recorded during past title transfers. Here's what I got so far...... I called the Secretary of State's office in Springfield, IL and found out that my car has only been in Illinois since 2005. It was originally a Wisconsin car, so the SOS office basically told me that is as far as they can help me. So, on to Wisconsin. I called a few state offices in WI and they basically washed their hands with me saying that they don't keep records back that far. I call BS. So I did an internet search thru the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) and found some history. The car was titled in 2005 and 1993 in WI, but that was all the search came back with. No mileage or anything else helpful. $4 well spent ou: Back to the Illinois story.......the nice lady I spoke with at the SOS office in Springfield said that she was mailing me a SOS Information Request Form, and that I could fill it out, send it in, and maybe get some answers about the car. I got this form in the mail today and I am debating if I am going to send it out and possibly waste more money. Has anyone gone down this path before or am i just spinning my wheels in the mud?
man I would love to track down some cars that I have previously owned to see what happened to them or if they are still around maybe buy them back he he he.. and I lived in wisconsin most of my life. Also, I bet if there was a murder associated with the car they would be able to come up with the info real quick every friggin oil change would be in the database retrieved in 5 seconds. Dont take no for an answer they have the data somewhere and please let us know how you make out.
Thanks for the pep-talk Gary. It's hard not to get frustrated wile doing all this digging. Like you said, if I killed someone and dumped the car with the body in the trunk in a field I'm sure all the records would "magically" appear back to day 1 :rant: I hope someday I can also find what dealership sold the car and find out if they are still in business.
You seem very motivated so just please remember me when you find the secret to this lost data because somewhere there is an 80 malibu classic 2 door landau coupe with factory gages and factory 4 speed that I sold in the folly of my youth and I would like it back somehow maybe the universe will smile down on me cheers.
These days researching a cars history is uncharted territory in that you can't paint every search with the same brush. It is similar in that getting info from the State is very difficult no matter what but you shouldn't make any assumptions on someone elses results. I have spent many many hours researching my 66 and got nowhere with the DMV or state agencies. I am dealing with CA which may be the toughest nut to crack. I would visit them in person if I wasn't 2500 miles away. It is encouraging they offered a special request form to fill out. I do believe it is worth exhausting every possibility because you never know when you'll stumble on someone who may be sympathetic to your problem. You may not get any results from money spent but you won't know unless you try. I guess it depends how bad you want to find the history. It is unlikely its going to get any easier the older the car gets. May the Force Be With You
Yeah but if my car has only been in Illinois since 2005, should I even bother doing a title search through this state? Or would I be better off dealing with Wisconsin, i.e. a title search through Wisconsin? What I am getting at is it will be disappointing if I send this form down to Springfield and they only send me back 2005 and up Illinois records. Why pay for them to tell me something I already know? Unless the form Illinois sent me counts for title searches in other states as well. I don't know how to find out if it counts or not.
Do you know what state it came from?Try contacting that DMV. South carolina is very easy; I found out a car I was looking to buy had been stolen in Georgia. That would have been fun. How he got a SC Title, I'm not quite sure...
Sorry I missed that. They definitely won't pull in anything from other states. I agree its not worth pursuing in IL. Focus on Wisconsin.
Thanks Jason, you saved me some trouble and wait time there. I believe Wisconsin offers the same form Illinois sent me. I will have to call a DMV up there or see if I can print one of theirs off of Google and send it up north. Like I said, at least I know it was up there as far back as '93 from the internet based search I paid for. As far as if Wisconsin is the state it originated from is unknown to me. I guess only that form will tell.
Due to the Federal Driver act of 1994, many states are not very clooperative to release information, and you May have to state which of the 14 exceptions apply to you. And that is likey none. You may get a title history but with most of the information blacked out.. Good luck, DL
