Board logo

Covering VIN number
phelpsa - 8/8/16 at 11:17 AM

What reason would someone have for covering the visible vin number on their car? This is assuming that the concealed vin number adds up with the rest.

My thought was that someone has run the car on incorrect plates previously and didn't want the number being checked easily. Any more legitimate reasons?

Mr Whippy - 8/8/16 at 11:27 AM

you really need to ask?

I'd have thought this was an MOT fail point anyway...

[Edited on 8/8/16 by Mr Whippy]

phelpsa - 8/8/16 at 11:28 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
you really need to ask?


Enlighten me. I've never bothered covering mine.

[Edited on 8-8-16 by phelpsa]

Mr Whippy - 8/8/16 at 11:30 AM

quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
you really need to ask?


Enlighten me.


the point is there is no reason at all for someone to do that other an something fishy

phelpsa - 8/8/16 at 11:30 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
you really need to ask?

I'd have thought this was an MOT fail point anyway...

[Edited on 8/8/16 by Mr Whippy]


Say it has 4 numbers, but only the one visible on the windscreen is covered.

phelpsa - 8/8/16 at 11:32 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
you really need to ask?


Enlighten me.


the point is there is no reason at all for someone to do that other an something fishy


As you can tell from my post, that was my thought. Windscreen replacement man says it is a common occurrence even with legit cars, but why?

Mr Whippy - 8/8/16 at 11:35 AM

the vin plate i.e. the one with the weights etc is meant to be in the engine bay. The chassis number could be anywhere, sometimes under the carpet on production cars or somewhere you can see it without taking the car apart. Some modern cars have the vin number or chassis number also under the windscreen glass so you can see it from the outside. You don't give much details of this car, does it have a plate in the engine bay? the one on the windscreen isn't mandatory.

[Edited on 8/8/16 by Mr Whippy]

phelpsa - 8/8/16 at 11:37 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
the vin plate i.e. the one with the weights etc is meant to be in the engine bay. The chassis number could be anywhere, sometimes under the carpet on production cars or somewhere you can see it without taking the car apart. Some modern cars have the vin number or chassis number also under the windscreen glass so you can see it from the outside. You don't give much details of this car, does it have a plate in the engine bay?


Its a hypothetical from chatting with the guy that changed my windscreen. He has seen cars where the single VIN number that is accessible without the key (on the windscreen) is concealed. The rest add up with the docs. Always fishy, or is there a 'tin foil hat' explanation as to why people do it?

[Edited on 8-8-16 by phelpsa]

Mr Whippy - 8/8/16 at 11:40 AM

I suppose with replacement parts the chances of every windscreen perfectly lining up with a very small factory vin plate would be quite low, especially when a replacement is fitted by hand. I'd not be concerned at all about that tbh. Especially if all the visible number match the engine bay plate. A few cars have the vin number just riveted on to the dash top so not really a very good deterrent to ringing cars, it might actually be a factory production tracking thing or when at dealers before a car gets a reg number



[Edited on 8/8/16 by Mr Whippy]

phelpsa - 8/8/16 at 11:42 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
I suppose with replacement parts the chances of every windscreen perfectly lining up with a very small factory vin plate would be quite low, especially when a replacement is fitted by hand. I'd not be concerned at all about that tbh. Especially if all the visible number match the engine bay plate.


I was checking that I could still see the vin number with the new screen. He says that he's come across a lot of cars that have had them purposefully concealed with a piece of paper or marker pen over the inside of the screen. But why?

[Edited on 8-8-16 by phelpsa]

Mr Whippy - 8/8/16 at 11:46 AM

quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
I suppose with replacement parts the chances of every windscreen perfectly lining up with a very small factory vin plate would be quite low, especially when a replacement is fitted by hand. I'd not be concerned at all about that tbh. Especially if all the visible number match the engine bay plate.


I was checking that I could still see the vin number with the new screen. He says that he's come across a lot of cars that have had them purposefully concealed with a piece of paper or marker pen over the inside of the screen. But why?

[Edited on 8-8-16 by phelpsa]


the answer is on the web -

Toprivetguns - 8/8/16 at 12:07 PM

It sounds like a silly reason, however parking tickets tend to slide down the dashboard and cover the VIN.

phelpsa - 8/8/16 at 12:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
I suppose with replacement parts the chances of every windscreen perfectly lining up with a very small factory vin plate would be quite low, especially when a replacement is fitted by hand. I'd not be concerned at all about that tbh. Especially if all the visible number match the engine bay plate.


I was checking that I could still see the vin number with the new screen. He says that he's come across a lot of cars that have had them purposefully concealed with a piece of paper or marker pen over the inside of the screen. But why?

[Edited on 8-8-16 by phelpsa]


the answer is on the web -


Plausible but too farfetched to be common practice?

adithorp - 8/8/16 at 12:30 PM

I see loads of cars where a pay+display ticket (old tax disc) has slipped down and covered it.

907 - 8/8/16 at 01:15 PM

With so many cars being cloned nowadays I can understand keeping numbers "out of sight."


Take number plates for instance. Loads of people obscure the number in photo's.
Lets say you owned a car in desert camouflage colours, with dayglo orange wheels. You would definitely obscure
the plate, just in case there was another, untaxed, that had the same colour scheme, that some unscrupulous so & so
would drive about with your plates on.


No offence. Just having a laugh.

Paul G

[Edited on 8/8/16 by 907]

prawnabie - 8/8/16 at 02:05 PM

Another common reason is the vehicle has been repaired after an accident. More often than not the n/s airbags will punch a hole in the dash when they are deployed and a second had one is put in with the donor cars chassis number still on it.

SteveWalker - 8/8/16 at 04:17 PM

I'd go with the cloning reason. It's easy enough to get fake plates. Copy the VIN as well and it looks like a legit, taxes, insured and MOTed motor. If they've got contacts and can get the owner's details too, they can walk away from a police check with no problem.

coyoteboy - 9/8/16 at 12:12 PM

Yep, easy to clone if you have the time to put together a matching VIN and plates.

Covering it means that they at least can't easily get the two from one car.

I'm not sure how most things like speeding tickets stand up in court - there's no way the police can prove it wasn't a cloned car (without image of the driver), so the evidence is worthless. Yet still it stands.