What is a good site for a detailed vehicle history of an old(er) car using the VIN#?
Asked by Safrane_850 Mar 13, 2015 at 12:42 PM about the 1979 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
Question type: General
5 Answers
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/c3/1979/79id.html
Safrane_850 answered 9 years ago
Thank you Robert, but I was looking specifically for a vehicle history report. Dates, services,sales, titles, anything.. I.E. CarFax. Old VIN numbers must leave a trail somehow, somewhere. Fred
Not really did old cars leave a trail. The method of keeping repair or service records started a few years back. A lot of older cars were made before the computer age remember. Why put in the service records of a 1951 Studebaker? There is a car information collection service that receives the information for retrieval. This is paid by someone somewhere along the line. Only if you can do a Department of Motor Vehicle search on past owners and contact them can you get a complete (if their alive) history. Several people that have bought older Corvettes have done extensive and exhausting searches and contacted past owners to get records.
Safrane_850 answered 9 years ago
I have a ’79 Corvette not a ’51 Studebaker. Actually everything ‘does’ leave a trail my friend. Life before computers is on the net in some form and I will find that trail. Appreciate the help.
I thought you were talking about an old car. DMV records in the early 70s back are not on computer. You'd have to look at micro film if they still exist. Before that, be ready to climb into a dusty room that has not seen a human since 1976 to find filing cards. I know you are on a Corvette question site, that is why I referenced older Corvettes at the end of my answer. If you really study the car restorers, you will read about their methods of researching the car's history and the dead ends they encounter. Some more exotic cars are easier to find a trail than mass produced and often sold vehicles, like a 1951 Studebaker.