[Teej]

I'd just like to find the original owner of my car but haven't had any luck. The DMV won't give me any information because of the privacy laws lately, and I'm kind of at a dead end. I have a copy of the previous title from the seller, it goes back to 68, but they bought it from a used car dealership in Tucson AZ so there is no 'name' on it or anyone that the previous owner might remember. That dealership is gone and its just an empty lot now...

So I was wondering if a PI would have access to the DMV database and be able to do a title search and if it would be worth it. My curiosity is just getting the better of me.... Has anyone had any luck with something like that and what it cost them? Or any other suggestions?

[Keith Seymore]

No - but I'm curious too.

I wonder what it would take to become a private investigator, so that a person could do their own investigations. I've always been interested in accident reconstruction/expert witness testimony, and there might be a tie in there as well.

K

[242177P]

My story is quite similar, history to '69. I could understand if it were a private sale, other than the name, they won't reveal any details of the dealership it was at back then. It wasn't from out of province, but they won't drop even a hint as to which municipality it was in. Trust me, the lady that did the check understood my objective and actually wanted to tell me, it was a risk she simply wasn't prepared to take. Commendable, but frustrating nonetheless.

Unless someone is willing to resort to bribery...

[Teej]

But could a PI get that info? Obviously I'd be paying them...

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by Teej

But could a PI get that info? Obviously I'd be paying them...

The biggest issue would be if they could still access the old paper records, as the chances of 43 year old DMV records being computer entered are not that high. I know California sometimes would have records in their archives and other times not, so there's no guarantee that even if you paid a PI they'd be any more successful at tracking down DMV records.

There's no harm in calling a few up and seeing if they'd try.

[PonchoV8]

Jerry Sandusky used to own someone's car.

[RAJ7395]

My 69 TA was originally sold in Cali.

So... if you find or here of a PI in Cali that can help recover information, Please let me know!

[se1979ta]

Older records may very well be on microfiche. As already mentioned, it's that access part that's difficult.

[GTOs-n-Vettes]

I've got a '69 Judge sold at Longpre Pontiac in California (now Honda World) that I'd like to have looked into as well. It's it would be awesome to find a member who's a PI. Sounds like there's plenty of potential business out there to make is worth his/her while.

[HaloMedic]

WHY ?

I mean if you got the money to hire a PI for this Im willing to humble myself to accept donations for a paint job. Im sorry just cant undrestand this Please give that money to a worthy charity and call it a day.

I go to a local car show near where i live 3000 people there looking at cars Its at the Villages a Retirement community of over 50,000 residents. No doubt from all the guys and gals ive talked to someone may have been the owner of my car as well as yours.

[rexs73gto]

If you have a friend who is also a police officer that person sholud be able to find all the info you need. When I was still working as a cop in WY. I could find all kinds of info on the cars sitting around in casper. If you can get that friend he'll be able to find out the info you need , although he may have to call in a favor or two to get what you need but it seems it may be worth it for you.

[Formulabruce]

Cash in the right hands in AZ will make it happen...My car was sold in NV ( Pat Clark Pontiac) but lived in AZ and was thinking about this myself, just a curiosity

[Teej]

Originally Posted by HaloMedic

WHY ?

I mean if you got the money to hire a PI for this Im willing to humble myself to accept donations for a paint job. Im sorry just cant undrestand this Please give that money to a worthy charity and call it a day.

I go to a local car show near where i live 3000 people there looking at cars Its at the Villages a Retirement community of over 50,000 residents. No doubt from all the guys and gals ive talked to someone may have been the owner of my car as well as yours.

Why? For the same reason we buy the info from PHS. (And consider ourselves lucky to do so..) I didn't think I was talking about forking over enough money for you to paint a car....But honestly, I don't know and that's why I've asked. I've never hired a PI and I thought that if they have access to data that the public can't get, I'd be willing to give the guy $50-$100 for a half hour of his time at his computer.

And the fact that the car was built in TX, delivered to El Paso, and spent the past 40+ years in Tucson make the odd of running into the original owner in FL pretty slim. It's also another reason I'm running into dead ends. I can't walk into the DMV in AZ, they don't want to give me info on the phone, and the FL DMV says I should talk to the AZ DMV.

If I had a friend in law enforcement, I might ask, but I wouldn't want anyone doing anything to jeopardize their job over something just for my curiosity.

[ramairthreegto]

I tried to get a VIN on a car my parents bought in 70/71 or so new off a lot, a 68 Daytona.
No information in our state even from people that were willing to look at records.
My Mom had an old friend that is P.I. look into it as a favor and the crumb trail is not there. Depending on where you are your mileage may vary.

The dealership is still there but a combination of a partial fire in the early 90s and going totally to computers in the late 90s did it in.

It is sad how much information from prior to the past few decades has been lost.

Although, so much information can be gathered and stored now there will probably be more problems with that.

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by Teej

If I had a friend in law enforcement, I might ask, but I wouldn't want anyone doing anything to jeopardize their job over something just for my curiosity.

This is also a valid point. A police officer could lose their job over obtaining private personal information for non-work related issues. Some people are always talking about slipping a friendly cop some bucks, but in reality nowadays it's a serious career jeopardizer to do such a thing (same with the guys who insist you can give a smog tech a c-note and get an insta-pass).

As I say and was said before, if the records do not exist on microfiche or in some dusty box in a warehouse somewhere, the chances of getting anything official are practically non-existent. I did a search on a '79 I had back in the very early 2000s when California still gave the info out for $35 and they said it wasn't found despite them looking in the official archives.

[242177P]

Originally Posted by ramairthreegto

... a 69 Daytona.

Fixed it for you.

Shouldn't be too hard to find that car. Winged warrior fans seemingly know every one of those cars, and ones they don't know of intrigue them.

[PonchoV8]

Originally Posted by Teej

I've never hired a PI and I thought that if they have access to data that the public can't get, I'd be willing to give the guy $50-$100 for a half hour of his time at his computer.

just for my curiosity.

He'd probably ask you do come back when you can triple the amount==at least here. I looked into doing that work once and they charge something around $150 to $175 hourly with a several hr minimum.

[Bill Morgan]

You're most unlikely to find any state retaining 40+ year old, pre-computer-era records in any form of easy-access system.

Texas, for example, two years ago destroyed all title records for vehicles not registered after 1992. Those records can be reconstructed only by presentation of an original paper title or a pre-1993 registration receipt.

[ramairthreegto]

Originally Posted by 242177P

Fixed it for you.

Shouldn't be too hard to find that car. Winged warrior fans seemingly know every one of those cars, and ones they don't know of intrigue them.

Thanks, I think I know where it is.
Problem is, parents sold it around 76. No record of VIN that can be found in our possesion.

Only one car F6 with white stripe/interior auto 440 car went to our state.
That is the car in a guys mopar collection in GA. He bought it from someone that bought it from the town we sold it in.

But...
we did not buy that car from that dealership it went to.
We bought it from a dealership 3 hours or so away from there.
And the dealership we bought it from never received one.
It was bought new a year or two after it was made, with a couple of hundred miles of test drives on the odometer.

So,
I THINK I know where it is,
but don't have the VIN to prove it's the same car.

And as a guy that has about 17K into a NOM/converted from TH auto to Muncie 69 GTO nice driver, 5K into a 71 Javelin rough driver with original drivetrain, and 4K into a 74 Roadrunner yard driver that does not have the original motor, and consider myself lucky and happy,
let's just say that a restored Daytona is well out of my price range.

[Teej]

Originally Posted by PonchoV8

He'd probably ask you do come back when you can triple the amount==at least here. I looked into doing that work once and they charge something around $150 to $175 hourly with a several hr minimum.

I really had no idea, so my guess was just a shot in the dark with a hint of optimism. Truth is, I'd just like to KNOW what it would cost so I could make that decision. If it's $500, I'd have to think long and hard about how bad I wanted to know. It would just suck to pay for those expensive hours and not actually get any useful info.. Which is a real possibility as I'm guessing they don't have a money-back-guarantee.

Maybe I'll make some calls next week and see what their 'free consultations' will tell me. If so, I'll obviously post it up.