Vehicle search from VIN only?

[Mark]

I recently purchased a motor that still has the original VIN stamp. I am interested in trying to locate the original vehicle and wondered if anyone had any ideas as to how I might go about this? Thanks in advance, Mark

[Edward M.]

Re: Vehicle search from VIN only?

Good luck. In 1994, the federal government passed the "Driver's Privacy Protection Act". The gist of the law is:

Except as provided in subsection (b), a State department of motor vehicles, and any officer, employee, or contractor, thereof, shall not knowlingly disclose or otherwise make available to any person or entity personal information about any individual obtained in connection with a motor vehicle record.

There are a number of exceptions, but they all seem to be based on court orders, or law enforcement use, or statistical data collection, etc. I did not see any exceptions that would apply to what we are doing: tracing the history of a motor vehicle. In fact, those people that do get this information are specfically prohibited from contacting any of the people identified through motor vehicle records (unless law enforcement, court ordered, etc.).

I recently tried to get a title search done on my 69 Camaro. I was told that 1) I can only do a title search on a vehicle that I own, and 2) the only information that would be provided would be that information that pertained to my ownership of the vehicle. No previous owner's names would be provided. The State of Alabama apparently takes this law seriously. Perhaps your state's DMV will be more lax.

[Edward M.]

Re: Vehicle search from VIN only?

Sorry for the multiple post. I forgot to answer the question.

Try placing an ad in the NCRS driveline. The ad should state what you have, including VIN number. You might also post an email to the Vettenet, the Corvette Restoration and Preservation List, and any other email lists dealing with Corvettes.

[Roger Coen]

Re: Vehicle search from VIN only?

California makes provision for the previous owner to be contacted [if their name can be deremined] through them and the person can respond if they want to. They, of course, charge for this.