"Clear Title" car on ebay is gone - NCRS Discussion Boards

"Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

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  • Duke W.
    Beyond Control Poster
    • January 1, 1993
    • 15657

    #16
    Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

    Thanks also to John H. for the "heads up" call to the local police. I'm sure we'll all be gratified if this leads to solving a stolen Corvette case!

    Duke

    Comment

    • William V.
      Expired
      • December 1, 1988
      • 399

      #17
      Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

      In NY a Corvette is registered as a Chevrolet. My 64 is a Chev Conv and My wife's is a 75 chev 2 dr sdn and becuse of the age there is no title for the 64. I suspect many states are the same way. Could someone be so stupid as to knowingly post a bogus VIN tag when thousands would look?

      Comment

      • Mike Yager

        #18
        Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

        Good point. The '63 Corvette convertible I owned while living in NY back in the 70s was registered as a '63 Chevrolet two door sedan - still have the original registration. I guess it would be possible in that case to register a '66 as a '66 Chevrolet two door sedan. Unless you knew about Corvette VIN numbers, how would anyone know that the VIN was not for a Corvette? However, you would think the insurance company would check the accuracy of the VIN to verify what they are insuring and to prevent fraud.

        Comment

        • Chas Kingston

          #19
          Re: the insurance company would check the accuracy

          Nah. Only when they want to deny a claim. They'll take your money, but find a way to avoid payout. A cynic? Perhaps.

          Geezer

          Comment

          • William V.
            Expired
            • December 1, 1988
            • 399

            #20
            Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

            Swapping the VIN a tag with a chevy wreck was a common paractice with stolen corvetts. Earlier I stated this car could have been floating around for years or even decades with this bogus VIN. In this case the paper trail could be impossable to trace. In NY the DMV only keeps records for 5 years so even if one could determine the correct VIN from the frame or block it still could be impossable to trace after 20 or so years.

            In the early 90s I tried to buy a stolen 66 425hp coupe that had been sitting in a garage for over 20 years. In the late 60s the owner recoverd the car at Dover Drag Strip (Wingdale NY) and never notified the insurane Company that paid the clame. I checked with the DMV and told them that I am about to purchase a car that was suspected to have been stolen 20 years ago and asked what do I have to do to get clear ownership. The answer was, because this was stolen such a long time ago that there is mo record at the DMV and to simply take a rubbing of the VIN and got to the DMV to get it registered as an old car with no documentation. I told the owner I would give him $7000.00 cash and all he had to do was open the garage door so the flat bed could load the Vette. He got cold feet and said he was saving the car for his son who was in jail.

            Comment

            • Mike Yager

              #21
              Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

              This is true. If you keep a stolen car long enough, you can wash the title. All you need to do is go to the DMV and tell them you had the car off the road for a long time in restoration and lost the title. As long as the original ownership title is no longer in their records, you will be able to retitle the car. Usually you just need a police officer to certify the VIN tag is what you are actually registering/titling.

              Its crazy. I know there are a lot of cars around but with all the digital technology that is available, you would think it would be easy to keep title information for longer than five to ten years.

              Comment

              • William V.
                Expired
                • December 1, 1988
                • 399

                #22
                Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

                Mike

                In NY you do not get a title for a car this old. To sell you just sign the back of the redistration. That's why I carry a photo copy of the reg for my 64 and keep the origional in the safe.

                Comment

                • William V.
                  Expired
                  • December 1, 1988
                  • 399

                  #23
                  Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

                  About 10 years ago I read about a guy that recovered his stolen Vette. Before the car was stolen he dropped his business card inside the door. He proved the car was his when his business card was found. Sence then I have glued several my business cards in hidden but easly accessed spots.

                  Comment

                  • Patrick T.
                    Expired
                    • September 30, 1999
                    • 1286

                    #24
                    Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

                    Yes, it's funny that most DMV's normally "say" they keep their records back for only five or ten years. My '67 L-79 was originally delivered to a dealer in West Virginia, according to the tank sticker. That is the last place I would have thought that they kept ANY records.

                    I was trying to find the original records and owner of the car. When I asked the lady at the West Virginia DMV how far their records go back she said "at least 50 years". I sent in the form with my VIN to them with $20 and got all the DMV records, including the name of the original dealer and first owner, from '67 to '72, when the car went to Pennsylvania. I've talked to the original owner several times.

                    That's where I encountered the problem. The Pa. DMV said their records only go back 10 years, so I'm missing the documentation from '72 till about '90, then it picks back up in Pa. until the present.

                    Comment

                    • G B.
                      Expired
                      • December 1, 1974
                      • 1407

                      #25
                      What a heart warming story

                      Let's see... the car owner boned the insurance company by not mentioning his '66 recovery after they paid his claim. And this guy is all sentimental about saving the car for his jailbird son. Choke... I'm misting up as I type.

                      I can only hope Dad will get to spend some quality time with Junior in the big house for his insurance fraud.

                      Comment

                      • William V.
                        Expired
                        • December 1, 1988
                        • 399

                        #26
                        Re: What a heart warming story

                        I think the car is still around but in the position of another garage tenant (car owner?????) I can't make this stuff up. Honest. I saw the car when it was parked in a garage that belonged to a frend's father. Needless to say the car was moved one night stiffing my frends dad out od several months back rent.

                        Comment

                        • Mike Yager

                          #27
                          Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

                          Yes,this is correct. I remember signing the back of the registration but don't remember how I ended up with still having part of it. It seems to me it was in twp aprts and the portion I signed went with the new owner. I do remember it was in June of '76 though.

                          Comment

                          • William V.
                            Expired
                            • December 1, 1988
                            • 399

                            #28
                            Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

                            Years ago NY had two parts one was the reg the other was to transfer ownership. Today there is only one part.

                            Comment

                            • Mike Cobine

                              #29
                              Re: "Clear Title" car on ebay is gone

                              As Bill said, this was very common years ago and Florida was a very lax state on such. I've seen a few with strange VINs. One odd '67 convertible had a Z in the plant digit in the VIN. This was back around '88 and he was very defensive about the VIN when I asked. He also left shortly the show thereafter so there wasn't much the police were going to do.

                              Comment

                              • Mike Cobine

                                #30
                                You mean Insurance Company

                                While I would want mine back as much as the next guy if it were ever stolen, it irks me to think some guy would get it back since he probably received an insurance check 20 years ago for it.

                                In many of the cases you read in the newspaper about "Stolen Corvette returned 25 years later to owner" there is usualy something in there about the guy got his insurance check for $4000 in 1975 and figured he would never see the car again.

                                If the insurance paid off, they are the rightful owners, not the poor guy who lost it.

                                There are no winners in cases like this, as the insurance companies rarely do anything as that case was closed years ago. And there is at least one poor guy who bought in good faith, had a valid title issued by the state (regardless of what you think if the state issues the title, it is valid), and now loses everything.

                                The thief got away years ago.

                                Comment

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