Saron81 said:
In reply to ClemSparks :
Even if they get your vin from your license plate (which is another thing I don’t get.... people blocking out their plate in ad pictures) that doesn’t get you any personal info. You’ll only have access to that info if you’re law enforcement.
Depends on the state. Here in MI, I can walk into a Secretary Of State branch with a license plate number and $5 and walk out with the name and address of the registered owner.
I didn't say it *will* be used for nefarious purposes, I only said that it *could be*.
FWIW, I found your Courier on a bunch of broker type sites, but didn't get to any info about you.
I always try and run a carfax on a car I'm interested in from a craigs ad. So I am the "legit" guy who is texting and asking for the VIN or plate. But I also put in the extra effort to type 6 or 7 more words in my sentences so that the seller has a better chance of deciding if I'm a bot or not.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
I saw those sites too, lol!
I find it odd that Michigan will allow you to do that, but I guess it differs state to state. It just seems crazy to me that someone could cut you off in traffic, and you could go to the dmv and get their address to confront them. I guess at least there’d be a paper trail?
In reply to SVreX :
I have done that at a car show , there are a group of people that have decided it's their job to write down ever one of these cars , location and condition etc ,
This car was a project and on a trailer.......
AngryCorvair said:
Saron81 said:
In reply to ClemSparks :
Even if they get your vin from your license plate (which is another thing I don’t get.... people blocking out their plate in ad pictures) that doesn’t get you any personal info. You’ll only have access to that info if you’re law enforcement.
Depends on the state. Here in MI, I can walk into a Secretary Of State branch with a license plate number and $5 and walk out with the name and address of the registered owner.
I didn't say it *will* be used for nefarious purposes, I only said that it *could be*.
FWIW, I found your Courier on a bunch of broker type sites, but didn't get to any info about you.
That's interesting. I was pretty sure that DPPA prevented states from selling that information but it appears to only pertain to " State DMV (or any officer, employee, or contractor thereof) " and requires consent to sell to marketers. There's nothing in there about another private person.
18 U.S. Code § 2721 for those wondering
Brotus7 said:
AngryCorvair said:
In reply to Saron81 :
send me your VIN and I'll let you know what i find. :-)
I'll bite 
1093R. Maybe more specifically 7107141093R or 651093R.
I'm going with a S2 Europa, likely manufactured in 1971, Federal version. But that's just a crazy Wild Assed Guess.
section 6A of this form is what you fill out to get owner info for MI license plate.
Here are the instructions for the process
and my bad on the cost, it has gone up to $11 since the last time i looked into it.
When i was in the Alfa Club in Columbus the president went to the DMV and asked for a list of all the registered Alfas in Ohio. They gave him a CD with names and addresses. I filtered it for him but it was not hard to get.
mtn
MegaDork
7/11/18 3:08 p.m.
I provided it. I can't tell what this person would do with it other than to grab a carfax. Even if they figure out who I am, where it is, etc., they can't get it, and I have insurance. And a big scary barky dog.
Honestly, if they said "Hey, can you give me the VIN so I can run a carfax?" I wouldn't have thought twice.
I haven't CarFaxed in a few years now, since buying the Elise. But at that time, the cheap-o account I had gave me like 3 VIN reports and unlimited reports by license plate number. When I was dealing with the Elise's former owner, I had him send me the license plate so I could run a report on it.
SVreX
MegaDork
7/11/18 3:28 p.m.
mtn said:
Honestly, if they said "Hey, can you give me the VIN so I can run a carfax?" I wouldn't have thought twice.
Yep. There are a large number of people out there who are terrible communicators.
If you choose to not answer them, you eliminate them as potential customers.
I always try to get the VIN. a few times it worked in my favor by googling the VIN.
On one out of state car I found that the seller had it listed for less than the asking price in another ad.
When I was looking at buying a classic motorcycle, I used the VIN that I got from a craigslist ad to find the bike for sale on a regional ducati forum where the seller was a moderator and had a thread where he was showing off the bikes he bought (including mine) from a estate sale. He had a great rep on the board and that made me feel comfortable with the seller before I ever contacted him.
If you nervous, leave off the last digit and it they are real, they will call you on it, it they are somehow a scammer, then you wont ever hear from them again.
Wally
MegaDork
7/11/18 7:44 p.m.
If there was a way to make money off VINs i'd have a couple high school kids snapping pics of VIN tags at the mall for me. Aside from legitimate uses like confirming the car is what the ad claims or running a carfax I suppose someone could use it to look for repos but there are much easier ways than trolling CL ads.
In reply to thestig99 :
Dude, you are into some sick E36 M3.
