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Originally Posted by DANTIP
My only area of expertise would be making sure the cab, SPID, VIN-tag attachment, and frame are original/matching. Certainly, someone could go to great lengths cutting, welding, and painting parts together and make a truck appear authentic, but I feel pretty confident I (and many other board members) can ID most mis-matched parts.
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Good info in your response, hope its ok if we discuss further for educating all who read this.
I noticed you listed cab and VIN tag. Is there a Vin stamped into the cab sheetmetal itself? I thought it was just the tag riveted to the cab.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DANTIP
As someone else mentioned, the police/license branch will determine if the VIN/vehicle is able to be registered (not stolen).
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Is it national database or state by state. I am pretty sure its national but maybe someone can confirm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DANTIP
After hearing this story, it sounds possible for someone to register a truck in their name, sell the frame to someone that is restoring a truck, wait until it's restored, report the truck stolen, and have the restored truck given back to them. Sounds far fetched, but not that different from this story.  |
Yikes, that is a scary thought! That could be prevented if you get a signed bill of sale for any parts you buy with a VIN on them. I think I will start doing that from now on. You could even go so far as to have an officer run the vin the day of purchase to know it wasn't previously reported? This way, if the seller reported it stolen later, you have a dated signed document saying it was sold prior to that and he would be busted for fraud.
Good info and good discussion.