Illegal to hide VIN?

[wander2039]

http://fox4kc.com/2013/06/27/thieves-targeting-10-year-old-and-older-cars-in-mo/

Hence the question. Granted I live in KS but spend most of the time in MO. My thought is if they can't see the VIN can't very well make out a bill of sale. Easy to cover and uncover if LEO's inquire. Thoughts?

 

[crazyoildude]

i hide my vins because all a car thief has to do is get the vin and make a key by code and drive the car away that takes 3 minutes.
Some transponders take a few more minutes to program.. It really is that easy

 

[Jarlaxle]

In some places, hiding the VIN can get the car IMPOUNDED. (New York comes to mind.)

 

[NHGUY]

I know alot of contractors,farmers and plumbers who should have been ticketed/arrested since the 1970s...the dashboards are treasure troves for magazines,rolls of tape,maps,tools,etc.The VIN plate on the drivers side obviously was the last thing on their mind.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Not sure it would deter anything. I suspect the bill of sale is done when the target vehicle has been delivered to the salvage yard and after the truck driver has created full access to the passenger compartment, before removing the vehicle.

 

[dparm]

Probably varies by state. You should be able to look up the compiled statues for your areas.

 

[ted s]

in ny its on reg sticker on the windshield

 

[The_Jeff]

Maine lets you sell anything prior to 1995 on just a bill of sale, and there's no requirement that the seller prove ownership or prior registration. We used to be title exempt on 15+ year old cars but tightened that down. Odd that MO is moving the other way.

HOWEVER, stolen cars still show up in the Maine DMV computer when one goes to register them, and it blocks the process. Naturally this doesn't matter if one is going to crush something and never register it again.

Seems like MO should refine the law, making scrap yards liable. Some states make junkyards stick cars in a holding pen until cleared for dismantling by the DMV.

As for VIN blocking, an innocent piece of trash should do the job.

 

[bdcardinal]

I will say it is annoying when I get a customer's VIN to look up parts and it is covered. I don't like opening doors because I have had dogs jump out at me, even ones that are "super friendly."

BTW anyone not understanding why dealer parts people ask for VINs, you have no idea how many people don't know what year their car is, or what engine they have. I have lost count of how many times I have been told a truck is a 95 with a 5.8L and the VIN is a 2005 with a 5.4L.

 

[wander2039]

Don't plan on going to NY anytime soon. Not sure what the law is in MO/KS but I just remembered my new boss is a ex-cop I'll pick his brain. Yeah I used a innocent piece of trash. going to find a black piece of trash though so it blends in better. The new motorhome we just bought has a dash mat that covers the vin. During the vin inspection the inspector just put it back in place nothing was said.

 

[whip]

Peoples paranoia always amazes me.

 

[Errtt]

Only time when I had the dash VIN covered is back in the day putting Dash-Mats in a couple vehicles. Maybe some of the higher quality/priced mats were cut to expose the VINs, but the few I had didn't. Of course I bought the low quality cheap price mats just to cover cracks.
Years ago, K5 Blazer, the dash was always fine until one summer I tried Armor All. Dash turned dark, then cracks. Then I found the cheapest mats at a auction to fix those cracks. A few bucks and the cracks were out of sight. Cheap, easy... those were the days.

 

[LeakySeals]

When you hide a VIN there is intent to lie. Impound it now!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Uhh...WHAT?

 

[artificialist]

I wonder if someone has put a fake VIN over the real VIN to both avoid prosecution, and still deceive others.

 

[The_Jeff]

^ That has a lot more malice aforethought than leaving a twix wrapper over half the serial #.

 

[Kestas]

How would that benefit any scoundrel? The primary ID of any vehicle is the license plate.

 

[MetalSlug]

I alway cover my vin on all my car or truck. I use a business's card or ad card long enought to cover the vin .

 

[kb01]

In the scenario presented in the video, I'm not sure what good hiding a VIN would do to prevent the theft.

A criminal targets a beater parked on the side of the road, smashes out a window, calls a shady salvage yard, and then fills out the transfer of ownership paperwork. The real issue isn't acquiring a VIN or even not requiring titles on older cars -- It's that wrecking yards aren't required to do any due diligence to verify ownership.

It's not much different than scrap yards who accept giant spools of electrical cable or a truck full of AC condensers from people who wouldn't normally have either.

 

[MetalSlug]

Reason I hide my vin was . About 7 years go I heard on the new . Crook post and selling stolen car with clean Vin number that that get from other car. The new suggest using small card enought to cover the vin .