At 11:36 PM 3/16/02 -0800, Steve Laifman wrote:
>
>The name "VIN" is simply short for Vehicle Identification Number, which
>has been on vehicles since at least the Model A Ford, if not the T.
>Before it was called a serial number. Same thing. Ever since the
>stealing of cars became a major crime, rather than a misdemeanor, the
>states have insisted on registration (taxes) and identification (theft).
>
>Regardless of what you call it, there are laws on the books of most
>states forbidding tampering with the vehicle serial number (VIN), for
>these reasons. This is to prevent fraud, and rebuilding totaled wrecks,
>or stolen cars recycled with scrapped ID. The fact that some states do
>NOT verify whether the vehicle has been a salvaged wreck as a renumbered
>stolen car does not make it any less painful when it moves to a state
>that does enforce laws of property title and theft.
Steve
We are speaking apples and oranges here.
First, the term "VIN" had no existence prior to its adoption by the Federal
government in 1966. The 1965 California title to my 1960 VW Beetle
referred to the vehicle's SERIAL NUMBER. VIN came in later and is a
different puppy in many ways. Anyone whose car was titled prior to 1 JAN
68 should be governed by the older rules in effect at that time and not by
the more restrictive ones which have come out since then.
Second, in every state, relicensing an already licensed vehicle is a
routine matter -- take the title to DMV and sign it over to the new owner.
If an owner removes a data plate during a rebuild, this is not something
which would ever come to DMV's attention in most, if not all, states.
Now, Steve, you have changed the thrust of the discussion by introducing
the topic of NEW registrations. If I go to the DMV in any state and ask
them to register a previously unregistered vehicle, I'm going to have to
explain the non-existence of a title. Out here in Reality Land, this is
normally done by registering the car in a no-title state such as Alabama
and then going to your home state's DMV -- the fact that the car was
previously registered in a non-title state ought to be answer enough. If
you are attempting to register a "new" car, however, you will have to have
an inspection and, in Virginia, at least, these are quite thorough and are
so to prevent both unsafe vehicles and fraudulently created vehicles from
appearing on our highways.
In every case, doing anything with a fraudulent intent IS a crime and, yes,
they do prosecute -- I've had five or six cases over the past twenty years
where the State Police and DMV have brought charges against used car dealers.
Marc
msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +276/343-7315
Cha robh b`s fir gun ghr`s fir!
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