My son is interested in buying a 62 Caddy that was owned by a friend of mine that passed away recently. He was wondering about the history of the car from new. How can you do this? Our DMV will not give out information for previous owners etc. How do these big time muscle car guys track all this info down?
This car is not a super rare car etc. He is just interested in who bought it new. He's intrigued with the history.
Contact the manufacturer. They can tell you which dealership received it. The dealer might be able to tell you who bought it, if they held onto their records. It's a long-shot though.
Sounds like good ol' detective work to me. Start with previous owner and work backwards. In CA if an old vehicle was always tagged there's a list of owners going back to the beginning. If the DMV didn't want to give me this info I'd start a lien sale and during that process the DMV has to give you all owners of record in order for you to contact each one. If unorthodox at least I'm thinking outside the box. Lien sales are done ALL the time. Every tow yard, storage yard, etc goes through this process constantly. I once owned a 1939 Ford panel truck that I thought might have been a military ambulance. Four years later I had a confirmation on that. It wasn't easy. If the car was bought locally was it serviced at the dealer or at a service station or both? Does the glove box or door pillar show names of these entities? I worked for a family that had run the same Chevron station starting 1958. My boss could tell you what each customer drove where they lived and what they did for a living going back to 1958! If this all sounds like too much work I agree. But you could follow leads if you wanted. I don't know of any other way... My 2 cents. Don
Chrysler Historical Service has a service for a fee, where they will trace back your car's serial number and tell you where it was assembled when, where and when it was shipped to a dealer. Perhaps GM offers the same service.
Thanks. I may be able to get some info from the previous owner. Dave bought the car about 6 months before he passed. The car came from the Tulsa area. Lots of old money up there.
Laughing my ASS off!!!! Because this man is correct; on the money; absolutely clued into the truth!!! Want more?? Ask any Harley owner how reliable is his bike. Ask any Hot Rodder how his car handles. Ask any teenager how well they text and drive. Ask anybody about their fuel mileage. They ALL lie!! Praise Carl for the TRUTH!! Cosmo P.S. You need to purchase only one-owner cars. Fewer lies, AND you know the OEM liar.
Unfortunately, other than Corvette and GM of Canada they don't have the complete records and don't allow public inquiries. I think Smog Guy has the best suggestions, a lot of work and time consuming but you can make the search fun.
Those guys would be outside our house with torches if they knew what he had in mind for the Caddy....those types are purists.
Even on some of the older Vette's you're out of luck. Some fire in St. Louis took out the repository on them.
The NICB, also known as the National Insurance Crime Burau, is a division of the FBI. They are the ones that handle grand theft auto. With a VIN number, the NICB search can tell you the entire history of a car from new. That's how the Corvette guys do it. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Oh sure. I'm certain that the FBI will, gladly, share this info with you, if you ask nice. You're saying that the FBI keeps track of every owner of every car in the US?????
Georgia offers a service through the tag department to tell the history. It tells when and to whom it was registered. Only goes back so far but still I was able to learn some good info on my car. Only cost 5.00 also. Not sure if your state will do the same but you could check. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
NICB is not part of the FBI. It's an organization that works As a go between law enforcement and the insurance companies. They can track registration and title history of a vehicle.
OK, this site makes you learn things and see things you probably wouldn't otherwise. I googled NICB. BAM! It's a free service, you just punch in VIN. However, it's only for vehicles that were reported stolen or reported a total loss. No doubt part of the Car Fax report. Unless this Cad was stolen or really wrecked, I don't think this will help. However, I will forever check this site from now on!
You just have to pretend to be a restorer until you get the info that you want. I know that you are honest Root but if you PM me the info I will join and be dishonest for you.
I cannot believe that the guy who makes repro trim tags would actually make a tag for say, a rare Hemi car so someone could put it on a body that wasnt a rare hemi car.....could this actually happen in the USA?
Wrong, a lien sale will not give you all the past owners of record only the last reg owners and any sales if not completed since last owner. Incorrect Internet info again. Carfax is a joke and won't do anything on a car that old.
Recent activity with the DMV has changed the way I do title transfers... I had quite a stack of paper work that came with a purchased car .. ..80 YEAR old titles ,bill of sales , cab cards, and other bits and pieces what I would call historical papers ... when transfering the title I laid ot my"CAR FACTS" proudly and asked for the transfer .."Thanks " the DMV said gathering up all the papers and they walked away ... brought the new paper for me to sign ... okay? Can I have those old papers back now ...." nope " ALL YOU GET IS THE NEW TITLE ....IN THE MAIL... the old stuff is needed to check the records of your VIN......CAN I GET IT BACK WHEN THIS IS DONE ... NOPE LESSON BRING THE HUMAN "SELLER"TO TRANSFER THE TITLE PAY FOR DUPLICATE TITLES OFFER NO PAPERWORK you want back.. HANDWRITTEN NOTATION OF OLD EXPIRED PLATE NO. or say there was no plate on the car SHOW ONLY A PHOTOCOPY OF BILL OF SALE PAPER PRINTED PHOTOS OF THE CAR ...YOU DO NOT WANT BACK the DMV had no idea or will not understand any historical significance of the existing documents ... NO NEED TO LET ANY OF THEM TOUCH THEM EVER I HAVE OFFERED TO BRING VEHICLES TO ANY PLACE OF THER CHOOSING AT MY EXPENSE TO VERIFY WHAT THEY ARE OR CHECK VIN'S ,VALUE,CONDITION .... THEY DECLINED please document any previous owners names or addresses at the time of sale .. its tough to do without .. even a scrap of paperwork
Yes, you can authenticate your car through the Cad/ LaSalle club: http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org/technical-resources/authenticate-your-car The original invoices and option info is available for most Cads.
The NICB does keep track of every owner and every car in the US. And no, they won't just hand it over to you, like so many other things in life, it's all in who you know. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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