Old VIN on a new(er) car

[Daryl]

I went online to transfer ownership from the guy I bought it from to me. My VIN comes up as a 1969 Chevy. All correspondence from online CA DMV online registration sites shows the OLD car and thusly my Transfer of Title fee as $860!! Normally, it’s under $50. But “The System” apparently seems tho think no registration or fees have been paid since 1969!

I contacted a company that researches records and they informed me that the DMV reuse VIN’s after 30 years for vehicles that are no longer in service. So my question is: with all DMV and AAA closed due to the Corona virus, how do I get title transferred ?

Any help or insight by those who have faced same or similar is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[07GtS197]

That doesn’t make sense, looking up a vin decoder from that year your vin wouldn’t even be close. Either the system is messed up big time or theres something fishy going on. Does the vin on the dash match the one on the sticker in the door jamb?


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[greg94]

Also vin from 1969 is only 11 digits After 1981 they moved to 17.

Corrected 13 to 11 digits.

 

[ttocs]

Are you sure they are all closed? I would have thought the DMV would remain open since it was in the automotive area and deemed necessary ot keep the cars rolling. Looking at mine they are not doing road tests but everything else seems to be open.

 

[evilcw311]

Here in Kentucky all of that is handled by the courts and county offices which have been closed. I need to check and see when they are reopening though.


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[Daryl]

Also vin from 1969 is only 13 digits After 1981 they moved to 17[/QUOTE

The 1969 Title shows a 17-digit VIN

 

[Daryl]

Are you sure they are all closed? I would have thought the DMV would remain open since it was in the automotive area and deemed necessary ot keep the cars rolling. Looking at mine they are not doing road tests but everything else seems to be open.

ttocs,
Yes, I checked online that is what defaulted me to try to transfer title online at dmv.ca.gov
And I wasn’t about to fork over $860 to some “we’ll register it for you” online service so my investigation was borne...

 

[Werecow]

That doesn’t make sense, looking up a vin decoder from that year your vin wouldn’t even be close. Either the system is messed up big time or theres something fishy going on. Does the vin on the dash match the one on the sticker in the door jamb?


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Yeh I'm with you.. I learned my lesson on that, double check your VIN with the one in the car dash, doorjam, and anywhere else you can find it on the car... Fenders, even under the fenders on the shock towers if you have to.. if it doesn't match the paperwork, you have a more serious issues...

 

[Daryl]

Aha!! I just checked again, and as of last Friday(?) 25 CA DMV offices are open. The 2 nearest to me are Glendale and Lancaster. I’ll probably go to Lancaster because it’s more remote so hopefully less crowded.

Thanks, ttocs. You put that bug in my ear to check again

 

[Daryl]

Well, just tried AGAIN to transfer title online since the Appointments drop down on the Ca DMV website won’t take appointments for title transfers. They must be done online. So again I try(tried same on 4/22). I filled in all the fields, attached front and back pictures of the CA Certificate of Title, as requested plus the 3 pictures from the title research showing the car originally a 1969. Proved I’m not a robot successfully each time did this (6 times total just now) and each time after I hit “submit” I immediately get an error message which reads,”Calculations have failed. Please try to fill all from beginning “. SIX TIMES IN A ROW. Kind of hard to do your diligence transferring title if the dmv website is f*d up

 

[ttocs]

any chance its something simple and stupid like you have a 0 where you need an O?

 

[Werecow]

Agree with ttocs... The o and ∅ thing is an easy one to miss as well...

 

[Daryl]

Possibly, I guess. It asks for the last 5 of the VIN and my last 5 start with a zero. Or at least what I thought was a zero. I’ll try again tomorrow using the letter “O”.

Good thought; certainly worth a try

 

[greg94]

Also the letter O...not zero, but the actual “letter”, I and Q are not used in any vin after 1981 as well. I think it is a system issue with the dmv online service. Hopefully your actual title has the correct info...or you will need to apply for a corrected title as well. That usually requires an physical inspection by the state police.

 

[Adfalenski]

When I registered my 1975 motorcycle in NC, the vin was in the old format. The DMV added numbers(which I have no idea what they mean) to make it a current vin accepted nationally. It is possible CA does the same.

 

[Daryl]

Also the letter O...not zero, but the actual “letter”, I and Q are not used in any vin after 1981 as well. I think it is a system issue with the dmv online service. Hopefully your actual title has the correct info...or you will need to apply for a corrected title as well. That usually requires an physical inspection by the state police.

Greg94,
THAT’S IT!!! The zero IS the letter “O”. I now have a Request ID# with the DMV and will await response from them. Which is a shit-ton further than I’ve gotten with them to this point

AWESOME MAN.... THANKS THANKS THANKS! I never would have thought of that.