Sheesh, a little anxiety about vin tags, huh? The vin tags, especially in
newer cars are held in place with rosette rivets. They are specifically
designed to look different than a standard pop rivet. Should a Constable On
Patrol (COP) see a later model car with non-standard vin rivets, they will
say that it is plain view evidence (as they can be seen through the
windshield) that the vin tag has been tampered with, and they WILL impound
the car, unless documentation can be shown explaining the situation...States
CREATE their own vin tags for cars that are missing the tags, or that have
suspicious tags due to accident, theft recovery etc., and affix these tags
permanently to the car.
Vin tags are designed to be a PERMANENT piece of documentation about the car.
A car is seen as 'real property', that's why you get a Title, and since it
can be altered, the states attempt to protect the status of the item by
preserving its identity, thus protecting current and future owners. This is
why vins are made of metal, and are riveted in place, so as to be permanently
affixed to the vehicle. Bad guys who steal cars take them off, and replace
them with tags from wrecked cars (remember 'Gone in 60 Seconds'?-GREAT
MOVIE). Cops attempt to thwart these bad guys from removing these tags, by
enforcing the laws that say you cannot remove or deface identification
numbers. Unfortunately cops can't always be sure that you're a good guy,
just doing a restoration, and not a bad guy, washing a stolen car with
totalled vin tags. Overall this is seen as a GOOD THING, because the bad guys
get punished for stealing cars and swapping vins, and the cars get impounded,
and hopefully returned to the rightful owner, or insurance company. This
makes the owner happy (sometimes) and the insurance company happy
(sometimes).
Rather than a privacy issue, this is a protection issue. Tags are supposed
to stay put so you get what you think you are buying. Many a Shelby and
Tiger have been faked, or created out of thin air from no more than the vin
tags, and a similar donor car body. When discovered, the words like fraud,
and lawsuit often get thrown around. Not good.
In reality, you will do what you want with your property. If they've been
removed in the past, okay-there's nothing you can do about it now. I would
advise anyone with 'original' rivets to leave them alone. A good painter can
work around the tags and give you an excellent finish without removing the
tags. I do know of one guy who wanted to have his car inspected so that he
could get the title corrected to show the car as a '67 Tiger, not a '68 as it
read. This would allow him to forego the emission testing ( a desireable
thing). Unfortunately the vin tag rivets looked a bit odd to the civilian WSP
inspector, and he was told to come back so a Trooper could judge the car.
Fearing the dreaded 'state vin tag', he never went back, so he still gets
smogged. By the way, the Troopers, at least in WA. are very well trained on
vin tag identification-they even have Rootes products in their reference
books....as well as Norm's book, I think.. :)
Man, by now I've alienated just about everyone. Too bad, I'm actually a
likeable sort.
Remember, just my opinion, your results may vary, subpoena duces tecum,
tastes great less filling, have you driven a Ford lately?
Von
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