Looking up a vehicle's VIN #?

[Tom '74 911]

Hi -

I'm in the middle of trying to reclaim my loss from an eBay scam on a '95 993 engine, where the seller sold the same engine twice, in two different auctions and hasn't delivered to either buyer (one being myself). See:

I might be getting scammed on an eBay purchase in San Fran.

and

Pelicans in San Francisco?

An internet search has popped up another add from March of '09 with the same name and email address as the seller I dealt with. The add is for a car and the VIN # is listed. Are the Police or other "official" authorities the only ones capable of getting info related to that VIN #? Or is there a public source to get that info from? Assuming it is good, I'm thinking it may be a good lead to track this mofo down.

Thanks,
Tom

[Joeaksa]

Tom,

Look here:

Free VIN check service from NICB.org

[Noah930]

California DMV also has a $5 VIN search. Tell them you're the owner of that VIN and want past info on it. See what pops up.

edit: Look under Grady's post halfway down the first page of this thread: California Vehicle Search

I tried the search, but it turned up empty for me as the California DMV discards old records if there's been no activity (in California) on the car for 5 years.

[Tom '74 911]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Tom,

Look here:

Free VIN check service from NICB.org

Joe -
I think that link might be bad. The website is still there, but the VIN check isn't available as far as I can tell.
Tom

[Joeaksa]

Try this:

https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

[Tom '74 911]

Joe -
Thanks for the more direct link. I get the "red mist" going when I'm in the middle of this and can't think clearly sometimes!

Nothing popped up on the VIN in terms of being stolen or other etc...