VIN question

[Morchella]

So I am looking at a 97 chevy 1500 4x4 for sale from a older lady neighbor. She has various old stuff leftover from her late husband and one of them is the Chevy I'm interested in.

It is in great shape little rust even on the underneath. However when I looked I saw that the VIN in the window does not match the VIN in the glove box with the RPO codes.

The window VIN lookup shows a 97 white C1500 2wd. The glove box VIN list a 97 white k1500 4x4 which matches the actual truck.

What situation would a window VIN be mismatched? A dash replacement? A whole cab replacement/Frankenstein truck? Or some previous shady practice by someone else? Neither VIN shows stolen, accident or any other red flag.

Just curious thanks for any ideas

 

[df2x4]

Dash replacement would be my guess.

 

[b454rat]

Wouldn't be a dash replacement, the VIN is riveted to the actual truck, it's just behind the dash. Maybe the truck had an accident and the cab was replaced. Double check that you read the VIN right?

 

[df2x4]

Wouldn't be a dash replacement, the VIN is riveted to the actual truck, it's just behind the dash.

That's what I get for guessing!

I always just assumed it was on the dash itself, I've never pulled one personally. That does make a lot more sense honestly.

 

[Hipster]

What Vin does the title match? I tend to stay away from paperwork problems. State Patrol is usually who runs the vehicle theft unit and title certifications in the states I've lived in. I've had salvage cars retitled quite a few times. Also, the vin or a partial of if is stamped in several inconspicuous places so pulling the rpo tag isn't enough.

Call Highway patrol to get them run the original vin on a hot sheet and you might start a shyt storm for the lady. Selling it out of state where it might require a vin check to get titled, insuring a vehicle that is not what you represented it as etc could be potential problems that could haunt you if you managed to get a tag under the false title.

If it's titled and reg is 2wd and you're sitting there pulled over in a 4wd it might be enough to get the truck confiscated and then it's your shyt storm.

 

[618 Syndicate]

^^^ this.
What does the VIN on the title show? There are other trucks that don't have paperwork issues.

 

[98chevy2500SS]

I'd ask if she knows anything about the VIN plate being different on the cab. If she doesn't know, I'd be skeptical about it and might stay away from it, jmo.

 

[Schurkey]

Factory screwups happen. They're REALLY rare.

I'd be more likely to believe that the glove box was replaced than the cab. But finding out the history of the truck would go a long way to solving the issue.

How does the VIN number on the door decal compare to the glovebox decal, or the dash VIN plate?

And, as has been mentioned, compare the Certificate of Title to any and all VIN numbers found on the actual vehicle.





For the record, I've bought two vehicles where the Certificate of Title VIN number did not match the actual VIN number. In one case, there was a mixup between the number "1" and the letter "I"; once it was between "Z" and "2". I have no idea how that can get past a DMV, since those sorts of errors should be coded-out of their database. Both times, the Highway Patrol had to inspect the vehicle and write a report for me to take to the DMV to get the vehicle titled with the correct VIN.

 

[Hipster]

I went though the same with my car trailer. I moved a few times and somewhere along the line dmv made a mistake. The title I had Had "GG" instead of "CC" which imho would represent car carrier and agree there should be some fail safes in the manufacture's part of the vin to prevent a typo like that. I waited in the lobby while they inspected it and when the officer came back he knew the life history on the trailer. From what dealer I bought it from new to every state I registered it in.

 

[Morchella]

The VIN on the title matched the VIN plate on the dash but that VIN has a C for C1500. The VIN in the glovebox is not on the title but matches the truck better being a K for K1500.

Besides the K and C difference everything else about the trucks for each VIN seem the same. 1997 and same color. When I ordered a report for each VIN neither show as flagged by the state DMV or NICB.

But the report did shed possible light on the Frankenstein build. The glove box VIN (which matches the actual truck) shows a front end deer collision in 2005 so maybe it was worked on using the C1500 truck.

I know it's really state specific so I'm trying to find how Ohio handles vehicles pieced together during a build or restoration.

Thanks for everyone's ideas so far