How to track down your previously owned cars

Any amateur PIs out there?

How would someone go about tracking down the car if they did not have the vin number? Is there any way to track down a vin? Through the DMV? Do they keep records of that? I don't have license plate info either.

The car in question was bought and sold over 20 years ago. I contacted the dealership but have not heard back yet. The dealership closed a while back, but they still have several others under the same group.

The car in question is a Porsche 911 turbo look (M491)

The only other thing I can think of, which I will try next, is contacting one of the online registries for the car.

From my experience, without the VIN it maybe hard to track down. What are the details on how you sold it 20 years ago?

I'd post over on pelicanparts.com and rennlist.com to see if they can help. There are usually quite a few posts about people looking for old cars. And trubo looks usually stand out.

Turbo looks aren't all that common so maybe there is a group of owners or a registry out there. There's are the ones that popped up with my google-fu

http://www.turbo-look.de/911-en.php

https://www.facebook.com/TurboLookRegister

PCA forums?

Easy formula.

I depreciate all my cars to zero over a ten year span. So figure how much you spent including financing cost.

Divide by 10, so say 3k (Average car is around here)

When your car reaches a point where the bills, time to deal with repairs and PITA factor exceeds the depreciation/year cost, go buy a new car. For things that annoy me or I consider chores, I mentally "bill" my free time at the same rate as my pay at work in order to make these kind of decisions.

The other way of knowing is if you want a particular car and the money is sitting in the bank. The formula is you WANT a new car and don't NEED the money for anything else.

If one did have the VIN how would one find a car?

(thinking about finding the mustang I restored with my dad)

I gasped last night when I thought I saw my 92 Ranger STX. I'm pretty sure my wife thought I was having a seizure. Alas, I've been taking my meds. Also, it wasn't my STX.

Apexcarver wrote: If one did have the VIN how would one find a car? (thinking about finding the mustang I restored with my dad)

I really doubt you can easily score the information needed. It's a breach to a persons privacy.

So theres no way you can find a current owner if you have the VIN as well as the names of 2 (maybe 3) previous owners (who are now deceased).

I know what state its likely in.

Sorry if I am hijacking, but am hopeful that its relevant information to the OP as well.

In many ways I wish I had that car back, in others I am not sure.

Are you still with the same insurance co.? Can you call them and see if they still have the records of you from back then? Your insurance info had to have had the VIN#

How the car was sold. I think that it was repo’d by the bank.

The reason that I am looking for the vin (and yes, it looks like you can find a car with the vin) is that I submitted my story to Restoration Reunion show (http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/tag/restoration-reunion) months ago, had a interview and they are intrested in helping me find my old car.

When I was in high school (class of ’87), my mother bought a one year old 1985 Porsche 911. I got to drive the car a lot as my father was not alive and my mother didn’t know how to drive stick. Unfortunately a she was killed in a house fire and the car was given back to the bank. I was 18 and distraught, my grandfather handled the estate and I didn’t pay any attention to it. I can’t find any records from back then that have to do with the car.

I am going to contact the probate court and see what records they keep. Any other thoughts?

You can usually request a VIN search title history on a vehicle in any state since it's public information by filling out the required form from the DMV and mailing it in with your check for $10 (or there-abouts). I've done this on a few cars where I knew what states they were from and to. If you have to blanket all 50 states, be prepared for some serious $$$...

If it went through court there should be a record of the VIN. However, 20 year old court records may have been destroyed. That be a great place to start.

I would have to move back to OZ first, everything I have owned here is still in my hands, or crushed

Maybe the bank? Or the dealer it was purchased from, if it was from one?

Seems unlikely that they'd have records from that far back, especially the dealer, but you never know...

Searching for a car my parents previously owned. The information I have is that it was a 1958 Pontiac Sdn Chieftan. There is a serial no. P758H31052. How do I find it?

Raze wrote: You can usually request a VIN search title history on a vehicle in any state since it's public information by filling out the required form from the DMV and mailing it in with your check for $10 (or there-abouts). I've done this on a few cars where I knew what states they were from and to. If you have to blanket all 50 states, be prepared for some serious $$$...

I tried to do that here in TN and you had to be a cop or other type of similar job...couldn't just be an individual. I just wanted to track down previous ownership history of a car I currently own.

Here is the TN form for reference http://www.tn.gov/revenue/forms/titlereg/f1313801Fill-in.pdf

Unfortunately, fond memories are often destroyed by reality.

By the time I'm done with them I don't want them back. Hell, I'm lucky someone will give me money for them to start with.

Good luck with your search.