is this possible guys? im looking at this car, "91 gta, 64k miles, red, perfect condition" anyways the guy gives me the vin and it doesnt match up. it comes up as invalid vin from car fax... i got him and his wife to go to the car and read me the vin word by word and it came up as invalid, so what i did was i changed a few of the letters, ( from 1G2SW2360MLXXXXXX to 1G2FW2380MLXXXXXX) and it came up as the gta that he was talking about, it was regesterd at the same time and same place as he said. in he told me he got the car from a dealership at around 22k miles in 1994. every emission test done after that matches up but on the car fax, it writes "

Date:
Odometer Reading:
Source:
General Comments:


04/20/1992 103
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Title #4500XXXX
Title or registration issued
First owner reported
Loan or lien reported


11/05/1992
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Title #4500XXXX
Title or registration issued
Loan or lien reported


09/07/1994 70,454
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Title #4500XXXX 02 BO
Title or registration issued
Loan or lien reported

what the hell is going on? if the modified vin i got is right then somebody drove the car 70k miles in 2 years? if the vin is wrong then what the hell is still going on because his wife told me she is looking at the vin and its totaly clear...the poeple sound like good people and the story sounds strait but wtf? what do you guys think i should do? i think ill have to see the vin for my self but the car is kinda far so ill take some advice first..thanks guys!later...

EDIT: RYU - Sorry to edit your post, but you should NEVER post your entire VIN or registration number ANYWHERE on the WWW. The last six digits (sequence code) are unnecessary for determining the details about the car for our purposes, but can be used by less-than-scrupulous individuals for less-than-honorable purposes. - Vader

 

oh and how much would you guys pay for this car? he is asking 7500 and wont budge. its red, grey cloth power everything.later...

 

i wouldnt pay that much for a 3rd gen personally (not including a TTA cause thats a whole nother story) although it sounds like its in really good shape if the guy is being truthful..

 

The 8th digit of the VIN, the one you changed from 6 to 8, is the engine code. 6 was not a thirdgen engine code. 8 is the L98 I believe. If it's got the L98 in it, there's a good chance they misread the 6 as an 8. The engine code is why the VIN is invalid though.

-Matt

 

Go here..... https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/vin/

It's a cool feature that will tell you stuff, and it right on our homepage.

Here's what the first VIN says...
Made in: United States
Manufacturer: General Motors
Make: Pontiac
S is NOT a known code for the Carline Code!
Carline Series: Trans Am, Formula
Body Type: 2 door coupe (hatchback)
Restraint System: Manual belts (driver inflatable)
6 is NOT a known Engine Code!
0 is the CHECK DIGIT
Model Year: 1991
Assembly Plant: Van Nuys
Production Sequence: 201394

The second one says the same except where you changed the "S" to an "F" ...
Carline Code: F-Body
And the "6" to an "8"
Engine Code: 350 ci V8 B2L/L98 (1987-1992)

 

could it be possible that the car fax is wrong? what yall think? thanks..i just might get the sexy thang. lol.later.....

 

No. I don't think it's wrong. I think there was a little mis-communication.

If he read the VIN to her while she wrote it down, he could have said "1G2F" and she thought he said "1G2S". Or you could have thought one of them said "S" when they really said "F".

Plus the "8"s and "6"s look A LOT alike to someone that doesn't know any better. Take a look at the casting numbers on any engine block, cylinder heads, or crankshaft and you'll see what I mean.

I would take the VIN that you corrected to the car and verify it yourself. That's the only SURE way to do it.

Good luck. It sounds like a nice car.

 

but the problem is that the "right" vin- 70k at 1994. he is telling me he has 64k miles. it doesnt make sence...could the mileage be put down wrong when he got the car back in 94? later...

 

RYU,

Sorry about editing you post, but if you read the description at the bottom of the thread starter, you can see why. I hate to do that, since it like a Freedom of Speech thing to me, but...

That aside, I'll agree that it is probably a communication and/or transcription error. Go look at you GM VIN plate, and see how the shape of an "8" might be construed as a "6" or an "S", especially with ten years of dust on the VIN plate and dash.

I can't guess what might have happened with the mileage, but I'd be asking the owner for an explanation of your findings. You may find out that something was changed, or that CarFax didn't have their "Fax" straight. It can happen. They'd probably have a real tizzy with my '86 with 48K miles on it, or the '96 with 4,100 miles.

Regardless, the number you were given originally doesn't even describe a GM vehicle of any kind, so an "Invalid VIN" error from CarFax is completely understandable. GM doesn't make an "S" body vehicle (although Mitsubishi does make an "S-Box" vehicle).

 

oh sorry! i never new im not supposed to give the whole vin..i hope i didnt do anything harmfulk. when i told the guy about it he told me that he has no idea why its like that, im going to call him and see if he has a title or something? what kind of writing info should i be looking for? thanks...later

 

Ive personaly came to the conclusion a carfax report isnt worth crap.

My RS came back clean as a wistle. well in the 5 months Ive had it Ive come to find out it has been wrecked, Id guess 2 times possably 3 times, and the title has the miles as being exempt, none of which was mentioned in thecarfax report.

 

Not trying to say CarFax is accurate by any means... so don't take this the wrong way.

If the car was in an accident and the damage wasn't beyond 30% of replacement cost (I think it's 30%, but it's a number close to that), then the DMV doesn't require it be in the "history" of the vehicle. It's too much paperwork for the feds to handle.

I only know this because that law came out in 1994-1995 when I was selling new Chebby's and used POS cars. That may be why CarFax doesn't have a clue about it. Perhaps the accident(s) were before that time frame.

The "exempt" thing is more of a state thang. Some states don't care if the car's over a certain age, or has a certain number of miles. Every state is different.

However, the feds DO still care. Everything CarFax gives you is only information that they recieved from the 'previous' title transfer. There's no way for them to know the current milage on a vehicle.

 

Not to belabor the point, but isn't CarFax afiliated with Consumer Reports / Consumers' Union? These are the same people that called the 1989 Plymouth Acclaim "an excellent consumer value". I stopped giving them the benefit of the doubt long ago. Magazine editors and writers are typically journalists, not engineers. Their bias is so blatant and ignorance so obvious that they rank right up there with Ralph Nader for credibility.

 

I wouldn't pay $7500 for a thirdgen unless it was MINT with less than 50K on the dial with an absolutley perfect interior and exterior. And it better be a T-Top GTA with a 5.7L engine w/leather interior. The engine bay should be clean enough to eat off of.

$7500 is WAY over blue book for any third gen except the 1989 Aniverssary Edition Turbo Trans-AM. Like I said should be in above condition for that price. Keep your cash you will find "The one."

 

Several years back I was in the process of paying for another years registration on my 72 when I decided to really check the paperwork. I discovered that the state had the wrong VIN number on the registration (it was also wrong on the title). Someone turned a "U" into a "V". I managed to get everything fixed but it did take 10 weeks.

Steve