'87 GN titled as '85 Limited...why??

[Jeff]

Without going into the details of what an idiot I am....
I have an '87 GN which is titled as an '85 Regal Limited. All VINs have been removed from the car (stickers, tags, etc) except for the '85 VIN plate which is screwed to the dash (not riveted). I ran the VIN on both the '85 and the '87 VIN on the engine block, both came back clean, no theft, no salvage, etc. This info is from CarFax and my state DMV.
So why on earth would somebody take a perfectly good '87 GN and title it as a '85?
I am really stumped here....
Jeff

 

[GNSCOTT]

I copied this from another one of my posts...Its just a possibility,so don't go tryin to arrest the guy

Its pretty common practice among car theives to steal a real TR and buy a regular regal title and vins and slap them on...See if your vin in the dash is screwed in or riveted in. Try runnig a carfax on the vin on the engine block or tranny.

__________________

 

[gn4u2c]

saw that done before to avoid high ins cost not a good idea.

 

[Jeff]

well...sumthin's weird...I'm trying to get the guy to take it back and give me my money back, I don't want to deal with this crap.

 

[galoush]

vin's from vinnys chopshop

Either its not a real GN , mine is an 85 but you wouldnt know from looking at it looks like an 87 . Or the cars been tagged .

 

[Jeff]

Turns out the car was an '87 stolen in '95. The '85 VIN tag was from a car that was wrecked in '92. None of this showed up on CarFax.
The car is now impounded and will be returned to the insurance company that paid out on the theft in '95...I'm screwed. I'll have to sue the guy that sold it to me.
Jeff

 

[John Larkin]

What state is this in? What state was it stolen from? Did you give up the car to the police? How did they find out you have it?

 

[Jeff]

The car is in Texas, and was stolen and re-registered in Texas.

I turned the car over to the state police on Thursday.

I had run both the '85 and '87 VINs on CarFAX and they came back clean, so I called the DPS (Texas State Police) to find out about getting a clean VIN on the car. They did a little research and found that it was stolen in '95. The records are removed if the car isn't found after five years, but the sergeant called the theft division where the car was last registered and they had the file.

So, in short, they found the car because I called them to try to make it legit. I'm in no trouble, I have done nothing wrong. I am out the purchase price of the car, plus all the parts I bought for it, except a few that I hadn't installed yet.

The sergeant said I could sue the seller and would probably win and get my money back.

Jeff

 

[1320]

That just sucks....

I really hope you get your money back...unfortuanately I wouldn t hold my breath......although you will probably get a judgement....

By doing the right thing you get screwed......thats just wrong....

 

[RobV6]

I feel for you! having a GN stolen from me in 97'.

Took those b.....ds 45 miutes to undo 7 detterents,
under a camera.

Cops tried to emplied it was me. Right at 2 AM I'm stealing my car.
Found it in the Bronx NY.

But retagging a car if your not looking for it is pretty easy.
So whatch what you buy.

Sorry for your mess.......Really. Just had to write in. Still bothers me!

 

[Jeff]

UPDATE!

Well, the hearing is next Wednesday...I fully expect the car to be awarded to the insurance company. but, at least I'll have paperwork with which to sue the dude who sold it to me. I'll keep you guys posted.
Later
Jeff

 

[gn1220]

Are you going to try to get it from the Ins. Co.?

 

[Jeff]

I dunno...depends if they want to work a deal. The thing is, it turned out to be a rough car. Had the wrong tranny, open diff, some body damage, 115K miles, and will have a Texas State issued VIN after all this is sorted out, which hurts the value of the car. The other thing is that I've already paid to buy the car, I hate to have to buy the same car twice, you know what I mean?
So I'll wait and see if they want to negotiate, otherwise I'll have to walk away. So much for my GN....
Jeff

 

[Jeff]

Re: UPDATE!

Originally posted by Jeff
Well, the hearing is next Wednesday...I fully expect the car to be awarded to the insurance company. but, at least I'll have paperwork with which to sue the dude who sold it to me. I'll keep you guys posted.
Later
Jeff

Hey, wanted to let you guys know I got lucky...the insurance company relinquished their claim to the car, and it was awarded to me! It cost me $707 to get it out of storage and towed home, but it's better than the alternative. It will be re-VINed with the original '87 VIN number and I'll have the title. Now I just need to get my project back on track...hope this doesn't happen to anyone else...
Jeff

 

[John Larkin]

That is a fantastic end to a tragic story. Congratulations on your victory.

 

[TurboGee]

Hey Jeff

That's great you got your GN back
I like to hear that doing the right thing does pay off!!!

That was great for the insurance company to return the car to you.

I still would like to see the guys that sold you the car pay the price, so they will not think about swapping VIN # again.

Congrats on your victory.

TurboGee

 

[Lee_Burough]

Which Insurance Company?

Congrats on "doing the right thing...."

Which insurance company was that?

That is the kind of company I might want to consider in the future for car insurance.

 

[Jeff]

The insurance company is Allstate, which I happen to already have my homeowner's and auto insurance through. I'm not sure how much of it was due to them being nice or whatever, they may have just gone and looked at the car and realized how little value it had to them. They would have had to tow it to auction (dead battery and a starting problem which I fixed over the weekend) and didn't know much else about it. I knew what I had already done to it and that it was a good running car, but not so hot on the exterior. Also needs tranny work. BUT, I'm glad they did what they did for whatever reason, and hopefully this car will turn out as nice as my Corvette (someday).

Jeff