Re: vin tag replacement
Ted,
As mentioned the tag assignment by Florida could have been done based on a multitude of reasons of which may never be known. The fact that the state issued tag was done may or may not mean to guarantee the car is "clean", meaning it does not show up on the National Database(NICB) with any issues which would prevent Title/Registration in another state.
When the FL assigned tag was done? I'd think only FL knows, if they still have the record. Maybe it was done 25 years ago and data now purged. FL has a vin#/title# check page. Plug in the vin# here to get the info when it was in FL. It will show the Title#, Title issued/printed dates, previous Title State, Title Status, Odometer, etc.
Note that FL only can update Title Status if they are told so. I.E. if a car is sold and leaves the state they have no way of knowing where it is now. A example is our 63 Coupe which was sold in 2010 out of state and it still shows Title Active.
Maybe VA has a similar vin/title page. May be worth researching.
Another issue that may arise is that your state may require a Vin Verification form be completed by a Law Enforcement or State Motor Vehicle Inspector because the vehicle was purchased out-of-state. Florida requires that but unsure of your state. I would expect it does.
This is where it could get tricky. You say there is no notation on the VA Title explaining the FL issued tag. If your state LEO or DMV person expects to see a original vin tag in the original location with a specific vin# format and character length in the VV process, and it clearly is not a match based on their instructions, this could lead to a problem. It may be as simple as them calling the FL DMV to verify and also to verify with the NICB for any issues.
To prevent surprises I highly recommend a thorough pre-purchase National Database validation. Just because a car has a valid State Issued Title, does not prove its integrity to be able to register it in another State. Here in FL I can walk into my local DMV office, tell them I am looking at a car to buy(in FL or another state) and ask them to do a NICB check of the vin# for me before I buy it. They are happy to do that for me. I also have done this for potential buyers of FL Corvettes that I've inspected. The DMV cannot give me personal data but will basically tell me if it's clean or not. They will usually tell me all of the previous info on each line, state, dates, etc, but no names. In one case their NICB check saved a potential disaster.
The idea is don't wait until after purchase to see if you could get Title/Registration. There are NICB websites that are pay-for services too. I haven't used them as my local DMV does it for me as a public service.
I just checked the NICB site. NICB now has a free database check(5 in a 24 hr period free to public). Just tried it on my 59 vin#. CLEAN !!
There you go!
Good Luck. Hope all works out and if you get the car would love to see pictures!
Rich
Ted,
As mentioned the tag assignment by Florida could have been done based on a multitude of reasons of which may never be known. The fact that the state issued tag was done may or may not mean to guarantee the car is "clean", meaning it does not show up on the National Database(NICB) with any issues which would prevent Title/Registration in another state.
When the FL assigned tag was done? I'd think only FL knows, if they still have the record. Maybe it was done 25 years ago and data now purged. FL has a vin#/title# check page. Plug in the vin# here to get the info when it was in FL. It will show the Title#, Title issued/printed dates, previous Title State, Title Status, Odometer, etc.
Note that FL only can update Title Status if they are told so. I.E. if a car is sold and leaves the state they have no way of knowing where it is now. A example is our 63 Coupe which was sold in 2010 out of state and it still shows Title Active.
Maybe VA has a similar vin/title page. May be worth researching.
Another issue that may arise is that your state may require a Vin Verification form be completed by a Law Enforcement or State Motor Vehicle Inspector because the vehicle was purchased out-of-state. Florida requires that but unsure of your state. I would expect it does.
This is where it could get tricky. You say there is no notation on the VA Title explaining the FL issued tag. If your state LEO or DMV person expects to see a original vin tag in the original location with a specific vin# format and character length in the VV process, and it clearly is not a match based on their instructions, this could lead to a problem. It may be as simple as them calling the FL DMV to verify and also to verify with the NICB for any issues.
To prevent surprises I highly recommend a thorough pre-purchase National Database validation. Just because a car has a valid State Issued Title, does not prove its integrity to be able to register it in another State. Here in FL I can walk into my local DMV office, tell them I am looking at a car to buy(in FL or another state) and ask them to do a NICB check of the vin# for me before I buy it. They are happy to do that for me. I also have done this for potential buyers of FL Corvettes that I've inspected. The DMV cannot give me personal data but will basically tell me if it's clean or not. They will usually tell me all of the previous info on each line, state, dates, etc, but no names. In one case their NICB check saved a potential disaster.
The idea is don't wait until after purchase to see if you could get Title/Registration. There are NICB websites that are pay-for services too. I haven't used them as my local DMV does it for me as a public service.
I just checked the NICB site. NICB now has a free database check(5 in a 24 hr period free to public). Just tried it on my 59 vin#. CLEAN !!
There you go!
Good Luck. Hope all works out and if you get the car would love to see pictures!
Rich
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