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Pre 1981 Vehicle History

M

marcfouchi

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I'm sure this has been asked here before, but where can I go / who can I contact about getting vehicle history on my '78? None of the online places have any info before 1981 because of the VIN standardization.
I even have the lic. plate number from the previous owner in CA, but don't know if that will do much good.
Thanks.
-Marc
 
Marc,

It can be quite frustrating researching vehicle history, unless you want to pay a fee $$ for a service to do it for you. I have been researching mine off and on for two years. It involves calling and writing to the DMV for whichever state(s) you know the car was registered in. In my case, I knew the car was last registered in PA so I paid $10 to get a report from them which contained copies of the titles, as well as a copy of a NJ title from when the car was transferred to PA. That sent me to NJ for the same and so on and so on.

When you make the requests, you are required to sign something stating that you will not contact the individuals but I think most people disregard this, right or wrong. I was able to find out how long ago my car was painted but have yet to find out when it was wrecked.

Though it can be a frustrating experience, it is nice to know ehre your car has been and even nicer to learn the true history of what's been done to it.

In addition, if you join the NCRS you can submit a vehicle history wanted ad in the newsletter.

Best of luck to you in your search. To get you started,
follow this link to get some vehicle history help.
 
Eric,

Can you enlighten me on how you contaced the PA DMV? I also bought my car in PA, and found on the Tank sticker that it was originally delivered in PA, and would like to find out what I can.

Any info you can provide will help.

Thanks,
Steve :w
 
For more vehicle history information go to the Vehicle History Search section found in the main menu of the Corvette Action Center (Under the "Main" tab at the top of the page). Here's a link http://corvetteactioncenter.com/history/dmv.html

Here you will find advice on doing an owner search plus contact info for the BMVs of the 50 states.

Good luck.

Tom
 
Finding older vehicle history can be a downright pain. Many states are enacting driver privacy laws nowdays due to the number of wacko people out there. This can lead to all sorts of problems finding previous owners. For example, just after I researched my 81 Florida enacted a privacy law(at least I think they did, I filled out a form anyway). Florida kept records for only 12 years then the old ones were destroyed, I just happened to get lucky and the last person on the history report was the second owner who told me he couldn't remember the original owners name but he owned an isulation business back then. I ended up calling ALL the insulation businesses and telling the receptionists my crazy story, finally the last place on my list turned out to be the guys brother. He called me back later that day and told me to come down in a few days, verified the car and gave me all the original paperwork including all the sale documents. Turns out he lives next door to my boss.

If you persist you can find anyone, just think creative, sometimes you can find a DMV employee that understands about old cars. Sometimes if you find out who owned it before you they can help get you in the right direction.
 
Steve, I have the form you need to submit to Penn DOT for title search.I' am gettig ready to do it also.If you give me a fax # I'll send it from work,either tomorrow or Wednesday depending when you see this post.Let me know.
 
sac001 said:
Eric,
Can you enlighten me on how you contaced the PA DMV? I also bought my car in PA, and found on the Tank sticker that it was originally delivered in PA, and would like to find out what I can.
Any info you can provide will help. Thanks,
Steve :w

Steve,

The PA DMV website PA DMV website has a form in PDF format that you can print out. Click here to go straight to the PDF form. It is really slow to load though, that's why I gave you the site link as well; Burglar's fax may be a better solution. If I remember correctly, PA was a lot quicker than NJ so you are in luck. I think it was only $10 or $15 for the history search.

Hope this helps!

- Eric :w
 
Burglar & Eric,

Thanks for the offer, info & form. I was able to download it real quick from work and print it out. I'll send it off to PA later this week and let you know how it turns out.

I've said it before & I'll say it again, this forum is the best! :D

Steve :w
 

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