Serious issue: vins dont match/other issues

[jesus_ralliart]

So, i recently sold my galant about a week and change ago. The guy who bought it from me says that he goes to register it today and that the ppl at dmv are giving him a hard time saying its stolen ! No prank, so they say the door vin doesnt match the vin on the dash. Question is: why are they checking this in the first place? I never had the ppl at dmv even look at the car when I was registering it. Also, I think if this was a legit problem, then I would have had it brought to my attention when I registered the car. Furthermore, when the car was inspected, the people at the inspection station would have noticed that the vins didn't match and I would have the problem brought to my attention then. Since they didn't I feel it is their problem or the current owner is trying to BS me. I don't know what the hell is going on but I intend to get to the bottom of this by today even if I have to drive down to dmv myself and tell them the full story. Title was signed off on and he co-signed as co-owner and said his mom was going to sign as owner. I can provide a vin if someone wants to run it, but I already did and it came back as clean: no theft/no salvage.

Any input appreciated.

 

It appears that at some point that either the door or the dash been swapped due to damage. As long as you can prove that you purchased the car and that the title is clean than it shouldn't matter.
Is the record on the second VIN listed as stolen? If so, was it filed before you bought the car? If it was then there isn't much they can do. If it was reported while you had it, then you might have some explaining to do.

 

[1gnasty]

yeah my car had a the driver side doors change and i never had a problem about it

 

[jesus_ralliart]

I don't have a bill of sale that I can locate for the car when I bought it over a year ago. However, the car was signed off and I actually still have the previous owner's name/possibly old address from who I bought the car. At the time then and when I registered the car, the title was clean. I don't know what the second VIN is since I never even knew to look to compare the two VINs. So, I don't know what that number is however, the guy called me and said it is from another galant.

I'm starting to think that the guy who bought the car from me is trying to pull some sh*t and he is saying that worse case scenario, he wants to return the car to me. My mom(previous owner)/dad and myself(co-owner) do not want the car back. I also don't think that I HAVE to take it back seeing as how we did nothing wrong on my end. Also, if the current owner is the one changing out these VINs and I don't know about it obviously I don't think we should be held accountable.

Keep in mind, the owner before me was an old asian guy with a wife and kids. I'm somewhat sure he didn't do any VIN changing.

Either way, we have paperwork for the insurance that used to be on the car, have title registration and the inspection that was done on the car was legit. I'm assuming that the inspection sticker can be run and that should include the VIN. I honestly have to say, I f***ing hate people.

 

If you had the reciept where you purchased them (assuming they were from the junkyard and not just someone part one out) you should be able to get it cleared up pretty easily. If it was a part out I'd guess the owners on here, so see if you can get a written reciept signed saying that you bought them off of them and some proof that they owned the car at the time (photo copy of registration/title ideally).
In the end, the firewalls what matters. Your registering the chassis, not the components. As long as the components aren't from a car that was reported stolen, it should be fine.

 

[vegeta1170]

The VIN in the door jam is on the body of the vehicle, not on the door itself. So if it was in an accident the door could be replaced without any problems. What you should do is check the VIN on the dash with the registration and the VIN stamp on the firewall.

 

Got ya. I'd agree that dash is probably the different one in that case. Firewall is law in the end.

 

[boostedinaz]

In AZ if you buy a car out of state you have to go through what they call a level 1 inspection. It depends on the car itself and how old it is, but they could put it up on a lift and go through it for an older car including checking VIN tags on body parts. When I bought my GTO they just scanned the VIN on the door and matched it with the VIN on the dash and sent me on my way.

It is basically just making sure the car is not stolen and not a POS.

 

[jepherz]

When I go to get my cars inspected every year, they check some boxes saying they inspected one thing or another, and sign off on it. Does that mean they DID check said items? No. Maybe the VINs never matched, but whoever checked your car out when you bought it didn't actually check them.

Why don't you just go over and inspect the car yourself? See which VINs aren't matching up and get a copy of the other VIN to run a carfax on.

Why are they checking your VINs, you ask? Because if they didn't, they couldn't catch any chop shops that were steeling good cars for parts.

 

[jesus_ralliart]

Thing is: I SOLD the car, i didn't buy it. I never checked to make sure that the VINs match. However, if it went through inspection for the previous owner ok, which im assuming was in NY and wherever he moved to in PA. When i bought the car it had PA inspection done on it. The guy said he was commuting to and eventually moving to PA. I told the current owner that if this doesn't clear up and I'm assuming it won't then I will have to go and inspect the car's VINs myself. My issue is this: I don't think I'm responsible for a damn thing... I sold the car and thats it.

I wasn't dishonest about anything and now ppl are making it seem like i am. Furthermore, the car has been in the current owner's possesion for a little over a week now. How do i know that he didn't switch the VIN number himself? I don't and im starting to think thats what he did. Why, I have no clue.

Also, when you register a car in jersey, you don't have to do inspection right away. They give you two weeks to get it insepected. So, why did they check his car right away at registration? Every time i've registered a car in jersey, they never even look at the car. All they need is title and proof of insurance. Like I said, something is up and I'm gonna figure this sh*t out.

 

[toybreaker]

Your last post confuses me...


First, you say;

Quoting jesus ralliart:
I don't think I'm responsible for a damn thing...



Then you say;

Quote:

I sold the car and thats it.



As the last registered owner, it is your responsibility to resolve this matter.

_End_of_story_

At the very least, you need to go inspect the vehicle yourself, and see what's what.

 

[fivestardsm]

On each of the body panles, there is a 1/2"x1-1/2" sticker that matches the original factory vin. These are on there to tell if the parts have been swaped from a stolen vehicle or such, so if one of the vins comes up to say that the "part" was on a vehicle that was stolen, then that is why the hassle is happening.

The stickers are on every panel. Each door, the hood, the trunk, the rear door sill of the body on each side, the fenders and the roof all have them. There are actually more, but you get the idea.

If it is the dash vin, and the door sill vin that dont match, then someone might have just swapped out the dashes because theirs was ripped up and seperateing.

 

[toybreaker]

^this

New replacement sheetmetal comes with an "r-dot" sticker, signifying a replacement panel has been fitted.

If a door or dash was swapped from a "mystery" vehicle instead, you have to have paperwork signifying it was a legit purchase.

It's the law, and it really is that simple.

Moral to the story, carfax first, followed by a [/i]complete[/i] vehicle inspection before the money/paperwork changes hands.

 

[turbowop]

When I purchased 503 with a salvage title and needed a bumper to put the car back together I had to have a receipt from a junkyard or other parts supplier. They told me Ebay was no good. I bought a base model Galant bumper from a junkyard for $50 just for the receipt and then ordered a JDM bumper form Malaysia. When I got the car inspected to be licensed once again, they checked the stock number on the receipt of the junkyard car and actually had pics of the damn thing, as well as pics of 503 post-accident. Good thing the junkyard car was silver, as the JDM bumper was too. They didn't notice. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/noes.gif They only care about stolen parts and never said a word about safety and how the car was put back together. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif

 

[jesus_ralliart]

I don't mean to sound like a douche but im actually very pissed off about this matter. What i meant by me selling the car and that's it is that its not my problem now. Reason being is that I didn't swap any VINs. When I owned it: car registered no problem, inspected no problem, and insurance no problem. Now, guy from the same state is saying he can't even register the car. Don't get me wrong, if he calls back today, I'm going down there and finding out what the hell is going on. Furthermore, I still have the previous owner's registration in the car. The previous owner(before me) left it there and I'm sure if its necessary he can be found for questioning as well. I don't have the paperwork for any kind of VIN swap, removal, renewal or whatever else because I never changed the VIN tags anywhere on the car, ever. Simply, I didn't touch the VIN tags on the car at any time when I owned it. Now, there are VIN problems for the new owner a little over a week of owning it. You're making it seem like im doing something fishy here but truth is I think the new owner is trying to pull some sh*t. Furthermore, this is a good lesson for me if im ever buying another car from a private seller. I think its on the buyer to check to see if the VINs match. Once a car is sold, I think thats done deal. Especially if the previous owner has all the records for everything that they did to the car.

 

[turbowop]

Is there a database for stolen cars they can compare the vins with? These aren't exactly Honda Civic high target cars for thieves.

 

[jepherz]

Nobody is saying you put stolen parts on the car, but obviously one of the VINs that is supposedly on the car that you just sold is coming up stolen. The state would be pretty stupid just to take everyone's word for it... Calm down dude and go see the VINs for yourself. Unfortunately it isn't mattering at this point that you sold the car and tried to wash your hands of it. What matters is that they don't have any record of the parts being stolen when you bought the car, and now that you've sold it, they do.

 

[jesus_ralliart]

Breaking news: Kid calls me and tells me that now they are telling him that he will have to have a new title made up: salvage. So, and extra 300 for new salvage title. However, he doesnt want a salvage title since he may want to sell the car in the future yada yada. Turns out, he was registering the car for business use and as such they performed an inspection right there and then. The guy who looked under the hood says that he saw "something new and because of that the car is going to have a salvage title". Kid explained to him that the shiny new "something" he saw was probably the refreshed trans. I don't know what was seen or wasn't seen, but I would have said its all factory. Any case, its starting to sound like DMV is just trying to make an extra buck.

So, he is flat bedding it home or driving it home and he'll get back to me.

 

[turbowop]

What a clusterfuck. I doubt any of the vins are coming up as stolen. It just raises a flag that there are different vins on the car.

 

[jesus_ralliart]

Possibly, at this point, anything is possible.