I had been out of work for over a year and I was up against the wall to sell my daily driver 2007 Jeep Wrangler before it was repo'd and I took the first solid offer with enough cash to pay it off. I owed less than the value of the Jeep and not wanting to get completely hosed, I also took a sweet 1978 F-250 4x4 as partial trade to make up the difference in Blue Book value. I gave the buyer of my Jeep a reasonable credit on the F-250 because it is super clean and runs great. It has the 400 engine and a four speed with the granny gear. It is also rust free top to bottom. It turned heads when I was driving it home and a guy at the gas station said "That's a REAL truck". When I made the deal I was more concerned with paying off my Jeep before it was repo'd than in what I took in partial trade and planned to just sell the truck and buy a more fuel efficient vehicle without having a payment so I can commute to and from my new better late than never job. The guy that bought my Jeep and traded me the F-250 was from one of the Mountain States but going to school here in the Desert Southwest. He was graduating and has to report to his new assignment in Alaska in the next couple weeks and is now driving up the AL-CAN highway in my former Jeep. Before I can go title the truck with an out of state notarized title and bill of sale in hand to the DMV, I need to have it inspected before they will issue a new title in my state. Well, things started to go bad when the Data plate on the door post and the VIN tag on the Door and the box didn't match the numbers on the Title. They were off a 1978 F-150 and all three of them were from the same F-150. Not a real problem as my state goes by the chassis VIN. But after scrubbing and cleaning the frame, I finally found the chassis VIN just in front of the firewall but that one also did not match the VIN number on the signed and notarized title I have in hand. The Chassis VIN did come back as a 1978 F-250 4x4 with a 400 engine when I ran VINWIZ, where as the VIN on the Title came back as an F-250 with a L-300. So now what? Do I go to the Cops and ask them if I have been sold a stolen vehicle and risk it being impounded, losing my desperately needed investment and becoming a pedestrian in the process. Or worse get arrested for being in possession of stolen property. Where do I go from here?

 

That's a touchy situation. Of course I'm going to tell you, you're supposed to check the VIN against the title BEFORE you hand over the cash (or in this case, the keys)

...but that doesn't help you now. About the only recourse you have now is check it out with the highway patrol and pray you get to keep it, or part it out. Maybe AZ is easier to deal with than some of the other states I lived in, but you're between a rock and a hard place unless you know something I don't.

Maybe you could keep an eye out for an F250 that was wrecked and swap your good body on to the chassis, but that's about all I can think of right now.

 

Of course report it to the police, before they report it to you. If you report it and the truck is stolen, yeah, you may be walking. If you dont report it, then you may be sittin in a cell.

Trust me, u wont sweep this under the rug.

 

They may be able to find the guy too

 

My brother inlaw has a very sharp looking 80s Chevy 4x4 that he put together from two trucks and a blazer, he just gave them the VIN from the dash so it's licensed an insured as a 4x2. I would bet you have the same thing, I have heard of reVINing a truck but don't know how it's done but that would explan the title?

 

There is no dash vin on a dent. The vin on the frame is the one that counts.

 

Man, I know its a tough spot but go to the police and show them all your paper work if its not stolen you will beable to keep it. If it is. You MAY beable to get your wrangler back
But either way you wont be in the slammer

 

You traded vehicles and you have the paperwork so the guy will be easy to find, call the cops before he sells the Jeep.

 

The VIN on the Warranty Plate is known as the Warranty Number. Ford says it's not for title or registration purposes as it's too EZ to change.

VIN and codes on buck tags used by assembly workers to make sure the parts installed on the vehicle match the build sheet. Buck tags have nothing to do with registering a vehicle.

As long as the hidden frame VIN matches the VIN on the title, there may not be a problem registering the truck. Engine swaps occur all the time, so if the B 300 I-6 VIN engine code doesn't match the S 400 VIN engine code, that usually isn't a problem.

Before doing anything, call the AZ DMV and run the VIN to find out if it's clear and not reported as stolen.

If the polizei get involved before you run the VIN and the truck was reported stolen, you may be arrested...and then have to prove in court that you didn't steal it. Not pleasant!

Most likely, this truck has had a body swap, which usually occurs because of rust...not normally seen in Arid-Zona. But how long has the truck been in AZ?

Could have originally been sold in the rust belt, then found its way to AZ.

Using the frame VIN, a copy of the original build sheet is available for a nominal fee from martiauto.com. Marti located in El Mirage just north of Phoenix off the Black Canyon Freeway.

Marti can also provide a new Certification Label with the correct codes printed on it, new Warranty Plate with the correct codes stamped on it.

Marti has ALL the original 1967/79 FoMoCo records, acquired them in the late 1980's when he found out that FoMoCo was planning to THROW THEM AWAY!

However, this "sweet deal" may turn sour in a NY minute, because the F250 "owner" could be a liar! Never believe a single word a seller/trader claims, as they lie just like used/new car dealers, lawyers, politicians and TV evangelists.

So, he may not be headed to AK on the ALCAN Highway, could have already sold the Jeep and is now basking on the sands of Waikiki Beach.

 

There's a few options you can do. I had the title but they messed up on it and could not find the owner or previous o owner. You can go through and do forced title transfer or do what I did and get a lean against the truck. I'm not sure on rules for your state. Mine cost me 25 bucks a year for three years after nothing I'll actually own it.

 

This way with the lean against it your saying yeah if the guy comes and claims it or its stolen you pay the lean or with forced tittle Is going through the court and they will do the same by trying to contact the owner... If he doesn't respond then its yours but for a court fee. But with the lean your able to get tabs and still drive it. This applies for mn but for az check with the DMV. I've had my truck 2 years now.

 

It's lien, not lean. Liens usually occur on vehicles when someone cannot pay a repair bill at a garage or body shop.

Garages, body shops are required by law to run a three consecutive day ad in newspapers announcing a "lien-sale" so the owners have the chance to pay the bill and get their vehiclea back.

But most garages, body shops run the ads in out of town newspapers that the owners will never read. The vehicles are then sold to get the money owed.

 

Forgive my misspelling

 

Same thing different location, body swaps are very common around here and engine swaps in a 30+ year old truck.........
I do understand the concern and hope it's just confusing to license.

 

I actually tried getting ahold of the previous owner. Sent letter and all.... Letter came back.