<VV> Secret VIN again

[Steven J. Serenska]

Mike:

> I have another question.  What is the point of the hidden VIN?  Theft 
> recovery?  Fraud?  What good is it if you have to take the car apart to see 
> it?  
When they found the Nissan Pathfinder with an unexploded bomb in Times Square a few weeks ago, all of the initial news reports pointed out that the VIN had been snipped from its sheet-metal plate in the primary dashboard location.

When read this, I thought, surely, if a Corvair has a hidden VIN, a Pathfinder manufactured 30-40 years later would have one too.  In fact, it was the hidden VIN that led authorities to the vehicle's last registered owner, and that's exactly how they caught the b*stard within 53 hours.

I think the answer to your question is "all of the above".  To your point, it's not convenient for a *legitimate* owner to take the car apart to see the hidden VIN.  I think that stamping the VIN in a number of places simply decreases the likelihood that a criminal will be diligent enough to go through the vehicle to eradicate all of them.

Steven "a fan of simple, effective solutions" Serenska

'65 Monza Convertible, 110/4
'66 Corsa Coupe, 140/4