Hey all, have an important question but not sure how to go about it... Shop sellin me a OBDII GSR complete stock motor with install fer $2500 this upcomin week and b/c its a tad sketchy just wanted to know how I would go about finding out if the motor is stolen? My friend said I can call LAPD and they have a database of stolen VIN's that I can check with them? The motor being dropped off @ the shop this week an before I f**k myself I want to make sure that its clean, so I will be calling the shop to give me the VIN... good idea? Any chance that it might not even have a VIN & what would be my move then? That wouldn't be such a good idea yea?
Stolen? Research Motor VIN?
- Thread starter DorseyR
- Start date
if its an obd2 motor, there should be a green vin tag on the front of the block, just above the oil pan where the header pipe bends 90* to go under the oil pan. look for it there, if it has been broken off then its possible something is fishy. why does this sketch you out?
just b/c it's my first swap & all my friends been scarin the s**t out o me tellin me if it stolen & police find it they crush my car no questions... just having no idea if its stolen sketches me out really, even if they mechanic & owner of motor give me bill of sale or whatnot, still don't know where it came from i guess? so is there a way to check VIN if its stolen or not?
if its missing the vin plate then theres really no way to check. but if the shop was straight up with u about the motor then i doubt it was stolen. people usually steal things because they want it or they have a buyer inline already. people barely ever steal then sell, because its more of a risk.
yeah you could probably check the vin with the police but honestly what cop is gonna pull you over and say pop your hood and then read the vin number off of your motor? i wouldnt worry about it.....if it was stolen that guy probably already got a big fat check from insurance and is driving around in a different car
Believe it or not around here where I live bunch of kids were having cops call them and check their motors out and checking vins to see if they matched up with the car. They were taking motors from certain people. State cops were all over stolen engines and trying to catch everyone.
do exactly what you said in your first post, OP.
get the vin number and then call the police dept and see if it has been reported stolen. if it comes back clean then your good to go.
i was in the same situation. i was about to buy a y8 from some guy and when i went to his house to check it out he lived in a super shitty neighborhood and he didnt seem like that great of a guy so i told him id come back the next day with the cash if i was gunna buy. got the vin off the engine and called up the police dept and it checked out so i went back and bought it.
just make sure to get a bill of sale tho too just in case.
get the vin number and then call the police dept and see if it has been reported stolen. if it comes back clean then your good to go.
i was in the same situation. i was about to buy a y8 from some guy and when i went to his house to check it out he lived in a super shitty neighborhood and he didnt seem like that great of a guy so i told him id come back the next day with the cash if i was gunna buy. got the vin off the engine and called up the police dept and it checked out so i went back and bought it.
just make sure to get a bill of sale tho too just in case.
....i retract my previous statementso yea...all though it sux haven to be all suspicous an act like i don trust the dood but, i do have the right to check out what im buyin =/ anybody kno if there some car/motor theft hotline heh =D thx for ur input guys an DAMN U THIEFS fer puttin me in this situation!!
update....so mechanic said seller says...no vin tag on 94-95 GSR bottom blocks stock"?? not even threaded for it?? this sounds odd to me but perhaps u all kno? next option he says if id prefer is buildin b16 block wit GSR head, sounds good to me as long as it has vin, what u guys think? thx again
borrow some balls from your girlfriend and go ask the guy s traight up if its been stolen. Better to be safe than sorry.
lol and you think hed answer you straight up?
not true at all
yeah, i get the point, real sketchy, tellin me that all usdm 95 an under gsr's or 16's dont got VINs on their blocks but on their trannies? tellin me that jdm motors come wit no VIN wutsoever & anyways it not gonna matter b/c i can't afford to put a 00 motor in to be legit anyways... his idea is to build b16 block wit GSR head & tranny & obd I ecu for 2 grand...in my 00 ex...in socal where im pretty nervous bout some pig poppin my hood just for the f**k of it & seein no VIN & jdm tranny or wutever & just impounded my ass straight up....so i dunno, im makin this a pretty big deal he say but guess im just cautious...
hows that not true. do u steal s**t to get ur jollies in a twist?
the guy is giving you a line of s**t. Every block has a vin on it the only thing that doesnt is the head. If the whole motor setup was stolen the block could be traced by the vin number on it. The head though cant be traced because there is no visual vins stamped on them. So pretty much you could say the head was from some place else. I wouldnt trust the guy to be honest. Ever since motor swaps have been being sold from stolen cars everyone has been going to jdm engine depot and buying a JDM motor swap for the extra money, which cant be taken by police and cant be claimed stolen and also you are guarenteed low miles on it.
JDM engines also have vins they all do dont believe anything that guy is saying just go the git way and buy from a company or jdm store. Dont know if there are any near you in Cali. In PA there is an JDM engine depot 45 min. away from me so I geuss its a little easier said then done. lol