Hidden VIN does not match VIN plate or paperwork

[66cayne]

That's good to know. I bought a '67 GTO from Rick, the owner of Sabetta's Classic Cars, Oh. a few years ago. This was a very expensive frame-off restoration with full photographic documentation of the resto. I live in NC and the State police inspect all out of state classic car purchases prior to issuing a new title. They have a special unit that handles this. Upon their inspection it was bought to my attention that the rosette rivets which hold the vin tag to the driver's side post did not conform. When I looked at them when buying the car the rivets looked fine however the State trooper used a magnified camera image that showed the rivets had been messed with. In his opinion this indicated a 'chain of possession' violation. He said that they may be the originals, removed and reapplied when the car was restored. However, it was still a 'chain of possession' violation. So, that set in motion a new level of inspection. The trooper then used a magnifying extendable mirror to look up on the top of the driver's side rear frame section for the hidden vin. Fortunately for me the hidden vin matched the vin plate on the door post. If they had not, I would have needed to get a bonded title for the car. Meaning the car was mine unless someone came forward claiming the car was stolen or somehow misappropriated. In any event, I still had to have a state issued vin tag applied to my car because of the non-conforming rivets. The state issued tag was produced on the spot by the trooper and was attached next to the original vin plate on the door jamb (which thankfully I did not have to remove). It is also now has a state issued vin on the title. So there it is, buyer beware. I now have a car with a 'story to tell' if and when I sell it. NC is one of only a few states with this level of concern about classic cars but they take it very seriously.