Missing VIN & Trim tags

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Missing VIN & Trim tags

67HEAVEN · Poncho Master!

Nope. Not buying.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

I would never do it, not even as a parts car.

There must be a good reason it's missing...

68 427 · Poncho Master!

DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A GOOD IDEA TO ME.

eeluddy · Uber Guru

Never, ever,never will I buy a car with no vin tag. I have been offered a few over the years but always was worried it would catch up with whoever removed them and then the finger of blame would come searching for me. Bottom line is there are enough cars WITH a vin tag for sale.
When you start buying someoneelse's stolen property how long before they steal your property?
Sometimes a guilty conscience is a good thing to have. It keeps you from doing stupid things!

Astro Jet · Poncho Master!

Wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. What are you buying anyway? Just a rolling parts car as far as I'm concerned. What would you get in the way of paperwork when you buy it? A registration with a VIN on it, but no way of proving it belongs to that car. If you get the documentation from GM for that VIN, it still doesn't prove it belongs to that particular car. For all we know, the car could have started life as a stripper and had all of the options that are on the build sheet added to it trying to make it something it isn't. I know there are places in the states that will reproduce the data and VIN tags, but I have never seen any to judge their quality. Also, can you even get the correct rivets that were used to mount them in the first place? I believe they were designed to be tamper proof and disintegrate if someone tried to remove them, I guess there was a reason for that...

ARCADIAN · Poncho Master!

I also agree and would not touch a car without the proper VIN tags as it may be hard to register with the MTO and even more difficult to register for appraisal and insurance purposes. If it was being sold as a parts vehicle maybe, but I would still want to know some more about it's background/history and why there is no tags?
Hillar several years ago at good old Barrie swap meet we found a full box of the correct GM rivets for the VIN tags for $15.
ARCADIAN

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

norontcan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Not touching it.

67Poncho · Uber Guru

Nope! Wouldn't touch it either, even with asbestos woven gloves!!

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

At the local auction, it was announced the car was bought at auction a couple years ago. The present owner probably had no idea the car didn't have the tags, and is now having trouble selling it. Don't worry, I'm not buying, but just wanted to see other people's thoughts are re the risks of making such a purchase.

We had a club member who purchased a car at auction about 6 or 7 years ago, the trim tag was there but no VIN tag. He didn't realize it until he got the car home, and man oh man, you would have thought the world was coming to an end. He eventually got a sample of a VIN tag from a US outfit (I pointed him there), the tag itself was very well done, but he decided to get a RCMP issue VIN put on the car.

67HEAVEN · Poncho Master!

And a simple test we should all remember to perform when buying.

Compare the VIN on the ownership with the car's VIN plate. And, in Ontario, compare them both to the Used Vehicle Information Package that, by law, must be provided to the buyer by the seller.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/used.shtml

65sssd · Poncho Master!

The only reason it's not sold is because of the price. If he offered it for 3 to 5 thousand it would be gone. Somebody would part it out. Right or wrong it would be gone.

455gto · Poncho Master!

Tampered or no tags is a no no. Guy tried selling me a car in Alberta with only a bill of sale....no title. Couldn't get otta there fast enough.

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

we don't have titles here in Alberta. If car had no registration, a check with a registry office would indicate if car were stolen or had a lien against it.

68 427 · Poncho Master!

455gto wrote:

Tampered or no tags is a no no. Guy tried selling me a car in Alberta with only a bill of sale....no title. Couldn't get otta there fast enough.

WITH ONE OR TWO EXCEPTIONS, I HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT AND SOLD MY CARS WITH BILL OF SALE ONLY. NOT A PROBLEM IN ALBERTA. JUST NEED TO INCLUDE ALL INFO AND HAVE A WITNESS THERE TO SIGN AS WELL WITH BUYER AND SELLER.

Astro Jet · Poncho Master!

68 427 wrote:

WITH ONE OR TWO EXCEPTIONS, I HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT AND SOLD MY CARS WITH BILL OF SALE ONLY. NOT A PROBLEM IN ALBERTA. JUST NEED TO INCLUDE ALL INFO AND HAVE A WITNESS THERE TO SIGN AS WELL WITH BUYER AND SELLER.

I don't understand, if the car has no tags, how can you prove what it is or register it? What does having a witness there add? Someone else saw you bought a car with no tags?

455gto · Poncho Master!

seventy2plus2 wrote:

we don't have titles here in Alberta. If car had no registration, a check with a registry office would indicate if car were stolen or had a lien against it.

The car had registration, but was in a different name than his, but it had tags.

68 427 · Poncho Master!

Astro Jet wrote:

68 427 wrote:

I don't understand, if the car has no tags, how can you prove what it is or register it? What does having a witness there add? Someone else saw you bought a car with no tags?

CARS ALL HAD TAGS. WAS JUST MAKING THE POINT THAT IN ALBERTA, A HAND WRITTEN BILL OF SALE IS ALL YOU NEED WHEN BUYING A CAR. THERE IS A PROVISION ON THE BACK OF THE REGISTRATION CARDS YOU CAN ALSO USE AS A BILL OF SALE, BUT IT IS NOT NESSISARY TO HAVE A TITLE(WHICH WE DON'T HAVE IN ALBERTA) OR REGISTRATION CARD TO BUY OR SELL A CAR. IT IS UP TO THE PURCHASER TO DO A CHECK ON THE VEHICLE BEFORE BUYING. BASICALLY, BUYER BEWARE! ALSO I WAS TOLD THAT IF A VEHICLE HAS BEEN UNREGISTERED IN ALBERTA FOR 14 YEARS OR MORE IT WILL NO LONGER BE IN THE SYSTEM AND A OUT OF PROVINCE INSPECTION WILL BE NESSISARY EVEN IF IT WAS LAST REGISTERED IN ALBERTA. A CAR THAT IS JUST SITTING AND NOT BEING DRIVEN ON PUBLIC ROADS IN ALBERTA IS NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE ACTIVE INSURANCE OR REGISTRATION.

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

455gto wrote:

seventy2plus2 wrote:

we don't have titles here in Alberta. If car had no registration, a check with a registry office would indicate if car were stolen or had a lien against it.

The car had registration, but was in a different name than his, but it had tags.

oh. Still may have been ok, but wise to steer away. Seller may have in fact owned the car, but hadn't registered it.

67BBSD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

when I appraise a car I'm to take the V.I.N. from the vehicle not the ownership-its amazing how many cars out there have no tags-or tags that are tampered with and/or are homemade.