Anyone had any experience with the CA DMV tracing the ownership history of a Mustang. I have the original CA plates (with several layers of those small stickers in the upper right corner still in place ) and I know who the original dealer was-now long gone. Thanks.
Not sure if they still do this but years back you could go to any DMV station in CA , fill out a form with a car serial number and plunk down a few bucks and they would print out the history. They probably have changed it by now but it worked back then. we filled out CSX2287 and it spit out the name and address of that woman that owned it at the time
Seriously consider hiring a P.I. I would think he may charge you only a couple hundred bucks to do it. Depending how long the car has been out of the system it may take some special contacts to reach far back into the DMV database.
I am in California and I tried to get history on the cars I own and the only name that came up was my own. I filled out all the papers and sent in the nominal fee and received information that I already had. It was a waste of time. The PI route might work, but I would only pursue that if they were willing to do it based upon their success in getting any useful information. If you are successful, please let us know.
Couple years back,
Hemmings (I think) had a piece on a business that would do this for you. They specialized in Corvettes but would really do any car.
I believe they were in California. They had a kitschy name like "Corvette finders" or something similar.
Unfortunately, I lost that info in my P/M folder from 1.0 and can't seem to remember enough to find it in a search.
I would love to do this as well, I will keep looking.
California DMV began purging records after 10 years a long time ago. Dead end was my experience.
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2006/02/27/tracing-vehicle-ownership-history
Quote from: Survivor on November 28, 2018, 09:13:54 AM
Anyone had any experience with the CA DMV tracing the ownership history of a Mustang. I have the original CA plates (with several layers of those small stickers in the upper right corner still in place ) and I know who the original dealer was-now long gone. Thanks.
Are these loose plates or are they on a car? Loose plates can be tough if they are not current enough to be in the system. You may only be informed if they are "clear " or not. If they are on a car the chances are better as the vehicle serial number ''carries more weight".
Randy
Good feedback and great article-thanks. I did have luck years ago in Fla. with DMV-they actually brought me back to the original purchaser with, believe it or not, copies of all titles. Of course, that was 1990 which pre-dates the new legislation noted in the article. The front plate was off the car but still attached to the dealer plate frame and was found sitting on the front floor. The rear plate is still on the car and again, still attached to the original dealer plate frame. I'm assuming that since the dealer closed years ago, all sales records were destroyed or now long gone. Here's the frustrating part, my seller has the name of his seller i.e., the individual he bought the car from who bought it out of CA and then brought it to Pittsburgh-but, he won't give it up. Likely due to his attempt to back out of our deal at the last minute and my suggestion that the court system would be a costly way to resolve that decision... I may have to try a little more finesse with him but thought that a DMV process, if available, would be a much less troublesome alternative.
OK let us help you . What dealer , car , original color. Someone might recall and say "I know that car" . PM or post .
Randy
Found it;
http://www.autoancestry.com/index.html
http://www.autoancestry.com/success.htm
It takes a lot of time, >> usually, to run down past history of a car.
One can get lucky with a few calls, and a trip to the DMV.
Please know, that most states delete anything over 20 years old now, have for a number of years.
Some old State Micro Fish may be around,
Lots to do, DMV, NCIC , a gazillion phone calls and emails>>and a whole lot more.
As a whole, this guy has quite the success rate with corvettes, that's a good sign.
Do not know if he will do a venomous snake though>>
I do hope that you find what you are searching out.
Regards,
John
Many thanks for the follow up info. Randy-pm sent. Thanks.
Okay, what's the saying-"sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees"? Just realized that there is a decal for the Automobile Club of Southern California on the p-side windshield. Has to be from the mid '80's when the car was last registered in CA (1986). Anyone familiar with this organization or whether it still exists. Some more digging on my end for sure.
Yes, it's very much still around. I've been a member since the '70s, although have never attempted to trace any vehicle there. Good luck and let us know.
https://www.calif.aaa.com/
Thanks. I just posted an appeal on their site. Do you happen to know anyone or have any contact info. on how to access the archives.
You might try reaching one of the writers/editors at their Westways magazine.
Have a pitch for Westways or one of the seven ACE Publications?
Send pitches to: Harryman.elizabeth@aaa-calif.com or pitch directly to the Editor-in-Chief of
Westways: Leslie Mieko Yap: yap.leslie@aaa-calif.com
Autoclub doesn't keep track of cars. It's a tow service member has card that is good for any car they are in. They do offer DMV services but are tied into the same computer as the state offices. If the owner had insurance with autoclub they may have those records but it would probably be searchable by the owner not the car.
Yes, that's what I think too.
The best shot might just be to approach the Westways magazine editor and suggest an article along those lines...how to find an owner of a vintage car.
I doubt AAA will divulge any insurance records/info.