How to piece together car history
Discussion
Have seen a classic online but says with limited history with it. It's low mileage and given it'll need a restore anyway not too fussed about having a full record however I have it with my other cars so wanted to know what the best way to go about getting the history together is?
It's been on the same reg it's entire life & has spent many years garaged so there a decent chunk of history where there was no records.
It's been on the same reg it's entire life & has spent many years garaged so there a decent chunk of history where there was no records.
All you can do now is stuff like joining the owners club or web forum and asking around.
At one time, once you had the car in your name, you could apply to the DVLA for a list of former keepers, then you had an outside chance that you might write to them, find any of them still in the same address, and maybe get some history. Nowadays they won't provide that information, so you can only use other sources.
Sometimes you can drop lucky. I've owned one of my cars since 1986, and yet only two or three years ago I met up with a relation of someone who used to own it, and it turned out his relation still had the original handbook, service book and a few old receipts and tax discs, which he was happy to pass on to me. As he hadn't owned it since 1983, it was amazing that the stuff hadn't been thrown out in all that time.
At one time, once you had the car in your name, you could apply to the DVLA for a list of former keepers, then you had an outside chance that you might write to them, find any of them still in the same address, and maybe get some history. Nowadays they won't provide that information, so you can only use other sources.
Sometimes you can drop lucky. I've owned one of my cars since 1986, and yet only two or three years ago I met up with a relation of someone who used to own it, and it turned out his relation still had the original handbook, service book and a few old receipts and tax discs, which he was happy to pass on to me. As he hadn't owned it since 1983, it was amazing that the stuff hadn't been thrown out in all that time.
If it is British, then a "birth certificate" from the British Motor Museum at Gaydon: https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive/herit...
For an extra charge they will provide a "Technical Specification".
Otherwise, many manufacturers put code letters in the VIN, that the marque club may be able to translate.
JOhn
For an extra charge they will provide a "Technical Specification".
Otherwise, many manufacturers put code letters in the VIN, that the marque club may be able to translate.
JOhn
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