Integrity of a VIN – The Key to Identifying a Vehicle & Preserving Your Investment
If the VIN or serial number on your vehicle, or the vehicle which you are buying or selling, has been removed and reinstalled on the car or has been tampered with or altered in any way you could face some serious consequences. These consequences could include criminal prosecution, fines and jail time. On the civil side of the law the monetary damages could be staggering.
Do you know what you are looking for when you look at VIN?
Many individuals, car dealers and collector car auctions have offered vehicles for sale that have VINs that have been tampered with in some fashion. Surprisingly, it is really not that uncommon! Knowledge, on your part, is the key to avoiding such a situation.
For the purpose of this article I am going to refer to all vehicle indemnification numbers as VINs. I recognize that the older vehicles referred to these numbers as serial numbers and some vehicles are registered by engine numbers, body numbers or chassis numbers but for the purpose of this article I will collectively refer to all of these numbers as VINs.
When the manufacturer assigns a VIN to a car or truck it is affixed in a specific fashion and by law (both state and federal) cannot be removed, altered, tampered with or obliterated except for very specific times when it is necessary for the repair of the vehicle.
When you are looking to buy a classic car, vintage or antique car or truck check the VIN tag to ensure that it is present and matches the make and model year of the vehicle you are looking to purchase. Just this past week I ran across two GMC pickup trucks offered for sale with Chevrolet VIN tags! In other words if you are looking at a GMC and the VIN says Chevrolet, that is a major clue something is amiss.
Also this past month I found a Chevrolet pickup truck for sale which purports to be a 1966 with a 1963 VIN tag! There are many sources to decode VIN numbers easily availible through your favorite search engine. These sources are your friend.
Once you have confirmed that the VIN is of the proper type for the year and model that is only the first step. Next look at the patina on the tag, is it consistent with the condition and age of the vehicle that you are looking at? Is the VIN tag affixed to the vehicle with the proper rivet, screws, spot welds, etc.?
I don’t recall knowing of any instances were metal VIN tags were glued on from the factory. There should be something visibly affixing the tag to the vehicle.
If you spot a vehicle with a VIN tag affixed in a non-authentic or questionable manner, stop immediately and contact Bryan W. Shook and Vintage Car Law® for assistance. Likewise, if the font, aspect ratio or the characters themselves do not look proper contact Bryan Shook for a quick opinion.
If you bought a vehicle that has a VIN that has been tampered with or removed at one point you should contact Bryan W. Shook for an opinion and to assess your options. The last thing you want to do is be stuck with a hot potato or worse yet the subject of a criminal investigation for possession (or offering for sale) of a vehicle with a tampered/altered VIN. Even if the seller did not know of the VIN issue this may not be an excuse or defense. Contact Bryan W. Shook for more information.
For popular American cars and trucks through 1972 here is a listing of how the VIN should be affixed. This list is not meant to be comprehensive or complete just illustrative and helpful.
Chevrolet (not including trucks)
1953 – 1959 Corvette – Pan Head Phillips Screws
Early-1960 Corvette – Pan Head Phillips Screws
Late-1960 – 1964 Corvette – Spot Welds
1965 (Very EARLY) Corvette – Pop Rivets
1965 Corvette -1972 Corvette – Rosette Rivets
1951-1964 Chevrolet (not Corvette) – Spot Welded (never RIVETS OR SCREWS)
1965 (Very EARLY) Chevrolet – Pop Rivets
1965 – 1972 Chevrolet – Rosette Rivets
Ford (not including trucks)
Model A through 1967 Ford – Stamped directly into Frame or Body of Vehicle (starting in 1940s there is a body plate affixed to the body or door of the vehicle that bears the VIN but this number must always be checked against the frame stamping/body stamping). Look for a star at the beginning and end of the stamped number.
1968 Ford (earliest production 1968 model year Fords may not have had publicly viewable VINs in the windshield) – (screws – very rare), small diameter head pop rivets or rosette rivets depending upon the assembly plant
1969 Ford – Standard pop rivets or rosette rivets depending upon the assembly plant and time of production
1970-ON – Rosette Rivets (note for 1968-1970 VINs the rivets are not usually visible)
Chrysler, Dodge Plymouth (MOPAR) (not including trucks)
1931 – 1940s – Flat Head rivet
1950s – 1965 – Spot Welded
1966-1972 – Rosette Rivets
Trucks
Chevrolet/GMC Trucks (NOT El Camino)
1940 – early 1950s – Clutch head screws
Early 1950s – 1953 – Expanding Rivets (very large center hole)
1954-1964 – Spot Welds
1965 (Very EARLY) – Standard Pop Rivets
1965 (late) – ON – Rosette Rivets (NEVER standard rivets)
Ford, Mercury Trucks (NOT Ranchero)
Late 1940s – ON – Warranty Plate riveted (usually with expanding rivets (very large center hole)) to Body – Serial Number/VIN stamped into frame rail as found on other Ford products.
Dodge, Plymouth, Fargo Trucks
1940s – 1950s – Straight head screws
1960s – ON – Rivets (Must confirm Frame VIN matches)
If you think there is something fishy with your vehicle’s serial or VIN number contact Bryan W. Shook for an opinion. Also, if you come across a vehicle with a known tampered VIN please let us know so that we can be aware of it for the future and to prevent future acts of misrepresentation and fraud.
As I wrote in prior article concerning fake and fraudulently made certificates of title; these types of problems concerning VINS and titles are very concerning because you may have purchased a car with a nefarious title history. Worse yet, you may not even “own” the car you think you purchased. I have even been involved in cases where multiple cars/trucks share the same VIN in different states/countries!!!
How can you help to protect yourself and have confidence in what you are already own or are buying? Order a Motor Study®! Vintage Car Law® is proud to offer this one of a kind forensic vehicle title abstract and provenance confirmation service. For more than a decade Bryan W. Shook, Esquire and Vintage Car Law® have established themselves as the leader in vehicle research. This experience is now available to the public in the form of Motor Study®. Call now – 717-884-9010.
NO TITLE TO MY CAR WHAT SHOULD I DO? – READ THIS FIRST
Buy a title off of eBay?
Register the vehicle in another State? Vermont?
Not having a title to your vehicle is a stressful and sometimes embarrassing situation. There are legal ways of curing your missing title and there are illegal ways. Buying a title and matching VIN plate and attaching them to your car are generally illegal. Likewise it is unwise to register your vehicle in another non-title state (such as Vermont, Alabama, Georgia) and then “transfer” the vehicle back to Pennsylvania using the out-of-state registration and a bill of sale. Sure there are plenty of videos and articles on the web that seem to show you how to game the system and obtain a title off of a bill of sale. BE CAREFUL AND READ BELOW BEFORE GOING DOWN ANY OF THOSE ROADS.
If you do not have a title for your vehicle I strongly recommend against purchasing a certificate of title off of craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, etc. I have recently noticed an uptick in the number of fraudulent or fake certificates of title for sale. Nearly every state’s DMV title application (Penndot Form MV-1) includes a clause, just above where you sign, which states (usually under penalty of perjury or unsworn falsification to authorities) that the information included on the title application is true and correct. If you purchase a title and obtain a matching VIN plate and attach that to your vehicle you are furthering a fraud and breaking the law. Furthermore, with the prevalence of fraudulent and fake titles out there you could wind up in much larger mess.
Think of the situation where you surreptitiously obtain a title to your vehicle using an out-of-state registration or you a bought VIN plate or title and you get a knock on the door or telephone call from the DMV investigator or State Trooper wishing to inspect your vehicle because someone just presented with the original vehicle. (It’s happened).
Most people are unaware that Certificates of Title are considered securities under Federal law and that possession and presentation of falsely made, forged, altered or counterfeited car titles, in interstate commerce, is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314 for which a person could be fined and imprisoned for up to 10 years! Likewise it is also likely a violation of state securities law.
Additionally, by purchasing a title you could be unsuspectingly obtaining a title to someone else’s vehicle and be guilty of theft by false pretenses (theft by deception). Correspondingly attempting to circumvent Penndot by first registering your vehicle in Vermont (or another non-title state) will certainly run you afoul of the provision on the MV1 that everything on the form is true and correct and you could find yourself making unsworn falsifications to authorities. Any title obtained under false pretenses or with misinformation or “half-truths” is void ab initio, or in plain terms JUNK and recallable by the state.
In summation buying a title or using the Vermont title trick might seem like the easy way out but it could land you in world of legal trouble which is easily avoided by simply obtaining a Court Order directing the DMV to issue a title to you for your vehicle. Attorney Bryan W. Shook and Vintage Car Law® can certainly assist you in your quest to obtain a valid and lawful Pennsylvania Certificate of Title. Attorney Shook has helped thousands of automotive enthusiasts throughout his career obtain reliable information about and legal titles to their automobiles, trucks, trailers and motorcycles. The cost is generally about the same as buying a title or registering the vehicle out-of-state and switching that over to a Pennsylvania title.
In summation buying a title or using the Vermont title trick might seem like the easy way out but it could land you in world of legal trouble which is easily avoided by simply obtaining a Court Order directing the DMV to issue a title to you for your vehicle. Attorney Bryan W. Shook and Vintage Car Law® can certainly assist you in your quest to obtain a valid and lawful Pennsylvania Certificate of Title. Attorney Shook has helped thousands of automotive enthusiasts throughout his career obtain reliable information about and legal titles to their automobiles, trucks, trailers and motorcycles. The cost is generally about the same as buying a title or registering the vehicle out-of-state and switching that over to a Pennsylvania title. If you would like information on how Attorney Shook can help you get a title to your vehicle please email him at bshook@shooklegal.com.
