Got my last untitled N600 licensed here in Ohio by declaring it to be an
"abandoned vehicle", so after a couple months they created a new title for
me. I now have a different problem that I hope maybe some of you CA folks
have experienced or can offer suggestions for me. I bought a homemade
aluminum car that has a 1972 CA license (complete with stickers). I need an
original title for this one to prove that it once was "street legal"...
otherwise I have to go through lengthy costly inspection here in OH...
which this unusual car may not pass. I'm assuming it was titled and I'm
wondering if anyone has had luck getting the CA Dept. of Motor Vehicles to
dredge up old info based on plate numbers?
Tom
DMV connections for titles?
Re: DMV connections for titles?
Hi Tom,
I don't live in California but the process is going to be similar. The plates are only part of the puzzle and the most important piece is going to be your VIN from the car. DMV of CA can tell you if the CA plate matches to your VIN. It is always possible someone had new plates issued for their vehicle (perhaps because they wanted a boutique plate offered by the state) and put the old plate on a different car so they could drive it illegally but without drawing a lot of attention. While a state may require you to "turn in" your old plate, if you tell them the plates are missing/stolen, you get your new set of plates. When a new set of plates are issued to a vehicle, the old plate id may be recycled into the system. So, while you may have a set of plates which say ABC 123 from a 1972 vehicle, if that plate id has been recycled (because someone received replacement plates), it is possible someone is driving a 2010 BMW with plate id "ABC 123" and you no longer are allowed use of that plate id.
One final note....... you can contact the DMV and give them a license plate # and/or the VIN number and they will give you the info on who owns it. You may have to fill out a form and pay a fee since many states have enacted privacy laws with regard to auto license plates.
Another avenue is to through law enforcement. The police can get immediate access to VIN and license plate info for any car with US plates. This info is supposed to be for official business but if you have a good buddy in law enforcement, they might be able to help you out. At the very least, they can tell you if your VIN and plate number are a matched set. You might present the facts and tell them you are checking that the car wasn't part of some chop shop operation.
good luck,
Dale
I don't live in California but the process is going to be similar. The plates are only part of the puzzle and the most important piece is going to be your VIN from the car. DMV of CA can tell you if the CA plate matches to your VIN. It is always possible someone had new plates issued for their vehicle (perhaps because they wanted a boutique plate offered by the state) and put the old plate on a different car so they could drive it illegally but without drawing a lot of attention. While a state may require you to "turn in" your old plate, if you tell them the plates are missing/stolen, you get your new set of plates. When a new set of plates are issued to a vehicle, the old plate id may be recycled into the system. So, while you may have a set of plates which say ABC 123 from a 1972 vehicle, if that plate id has been recycled (because someone received replacement plates), it is possible someone is driving a 2010 BMW with plate id "ABC 123" and you no longer are allowed use of that plate id.
One final note....... you can contact the DMV and give them a license plate # and/or the VIN number and they will give you the info on who owns it. You may have to fill out a form and pay a fee since many states have enacted privacy laws with regard to auto license plates.
Another avenue is to through law enforcement. The police can get immediate access to VIN and license plate info for any car with US plates. This info is supposed to be for official business but if you have a good buddy in law enforcement, they might be able to help you out. At the very least, they can tell you if your VIN and plate number are a matched set. You might present the facts and tell them you are checking that the car wasn't part of some chop shop operation.
good luck,
Dale
> Got my
> last untitled N600 licensed here in Ohio by declaring it to be an
> "abandoned vehicle", so after a couple months they created a new title for
> me. I now have a different problem that I hope maybe some of you CA folks
> have experienced or can offer suggestions for me. I bought a homemade
> aluminum car that has a 1972 CA license (complete with stickers). I need > an > original title for this one to prove that it once was "street legal"...
> otherwise I have to go through lengthy costly inspection here in OH...
> which this unusual car may not pass. I'm assuming it was titled and I'm
> wondering if anyone has had luck getting the CA Dept. of Motor Vehicles to
> dredge up old info based on plate
> numbers?
> Tom