PennDOT out of state vehicles & vin tags

I'm helping a friend sell a VW kit-car dune buggy that's built on a '68 VW floorpan and registered in New York as a '68 VW to a buyer in PA.

The body was cut off to make the dune buggy so the VIN tag that was in the trunk is gone. Supposedly there's a VIN on the transmission tunnel but that's covered up by the bolted on fiberglass body tub.

The buyer says PennDOT wants to see the VIN tag before they will title it, if we can't show it to him he won't buy the car.

Does PennDOT really want to see the VIN tag on a 41 year old VW?

I'm used to NY where DMV doesn't care about anything except sales tax $ and DMV fees.

http://www.its-titles.com/index.htm

I don't know anything about this place -- it was passed on to me as a suggestion. I tried to call today & got a busy signal . I might try again tomorrow.

The thing is, I was reading that they require insurance first, then they send you a title -- well that won't fly in MA, because you need a title before you can get insurance, then insurance before you can get plates! ....God I hate this place!

Sorry ..... If you can get a title thru those guys, you might be all set.

I've used ITS in the past, 3 bikes and 2 cars, great service. The problem this time isn't title - have that, NY transferable registration.

It's PennDOT wanting a "tracing or rubbing" of the VIN tag/plate itself.

Ahhh, I got ya. What a pain in the ass. Sounds alot like this state -- anything to do with motor vehicles that you built or repaired, is as difficult as humanly possible.

Got a punch kit & some lead sheets handy?

SMITTY wrote:Got a punch kit & some lead sheets handy?

That's what I'd do but buyer is wayyyy too uptight - he wants a bill of sale for full purchase price.

So you don't have anything with a vin number on it for said vehicle?

I sold a couple of Vespa Scooters for my customers once, one to a couple in PA. It turned out Vespa screwed up the VIN numbers out of the factory in Italy- the owner's manuals had the wrong VIN numbers. Nobody knew until that PA couple took the etching and it didn't match. They were very patient. Morristown, NJ DMV were complete bastards about it. My boss had told me to handle the sale, and I didn't check the VIN numbers like he told me to- I just checked the color of each scooter on the Titles. That blew my chances to do white collar work for that guy forever. He went back to NJDMV and got results- wealthy guy with a lot of clout.

PA has a specialty title I believe called a street rod title. No vin's required. Two of my uncles have built multiple cars and didn't have a vin. The latest one they're working on is a 32 ford kit. Call the DMV and ask about it. I'll also fire off an email to my uncle that owns the 32 and ask how he's getting it titled.

That "street rod" title sounds like the ticket, if PennDOT won't title it. Thanks!

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/067/c ... 19toc.html

See, there you go ---- every state in the union is normal except Massachusetts. That would NEVER happen here -- you construct your own vehicle & you'll be lucky to get a title after paying the registry over $500 & waiting 6 months or longer. They'll want the police to inspect it & fill out THEIR form, which you'll wait a month to get ..... then another 2 or more months to get back after the cops fill it out -- IF they approve of what you've built ..... which you can guarantee you'll have to spend at least another grand to get it to their liking. I know a fabricator that built a T-bucket -- took him 2 YEARS to get a stupid title. He ended up doing it illegally!!

No temporary plates in MA either -- when you buy a used car from Joe Shmoe 100 miles away on a Sunday, your supposed to go to your insurance company, give them however many hundreds of dollars UP FRONT for a policy, run down to the registry to stand in line for 2 hours ( none of these are open on Sunday, btw ) & get treated like an *censored* by some miserable douchebag who has connections that got her that cushy job that she hates, Then drive back out to affix plates to said vehicle.

That's why I buy cars AT NIGHT!

Connecticut pulls some stupid stuff like that.

One of my former neighbors got pulled over and got a ticket because a tail light was out. When he went to the DMV to get it inspected the inspector noticed that the VIN # on the door didn't match the VIN#s on the dash and frame. He bought the truck new, this was a screw-up at the factory. They wanted to make him re-register the truck with the VIN # on the door. He found out from the DMV that the truck with his door ended up in the next town over. When my neighbor asked if he could just switch the vin tags the inspector just about had kittens and said that doing so would be illegal. My neighbor called the owner of the other truck and since both trucks were the same color they switched doors.

Also trying to register a kit car in NY is a real PITA if you build it yourself....a buddy went thru this a while ago and you have to keep every reciept, DOT tag(s) for like lights, turn signals, etc....get it certified, inspected, etc....took quite a while to get it on the road.

It has been a while since I got the street rod title here in Pa.I can't remember all the forms and applications required but do recall that I had to split the braking system to dual master cylinder.[40 Fords were single cup master cylinders].for starters.Also very picky on fuel lines,exhaust routing,wheel clearances, and lighting.It had to be certified and signed off by a state approved inspector.Then they wanted pictures of everything, submitted with the title and completed forms and on and on and on.I was talking to a shop a while ago that said they "upgraded" their routine to whereby the state will assign only a given number of stations per district to even do this certification work. Then when you get the tag,not all insurance companys will recognize it. Look before you leap on a street rod tag.