Looking at used LS430s and I have a question about vin tags. I see them on the fenders, hood, doors, the car of course, stamped into the firewall. Does the trunk lid or rear quarters have vin tags that are covered by the trim in the back? I presume if the front fenders on a car dont have VIN tags they have been replaced due to crash damage at some point. Does the front bumper, headlights, etc have any markings that I can look for to see if they are original OEM pieces?

Mike

 

behind the front bumper is the crash bar and it has a vin tag.the trunk lid has one.its under the trim.

 

I once asked a state trooper buddy who worked auto theft in Newark, if it's like you see on Law and Order where the VIN is etched in secret places that only the mfg. and the FBI know about, so that chop shops get busted.....he told me it's all meaningless and that criminals usually know everything if not more than enforcement...I also told him if he and his partner played good cop/bad cop I bet I could withstand their interrogation, and he assured me that I would not...without any smile whatsoever, so it made me wonder...

 

yeah, as far as anti-theft I don't think it makes much difference. The cars get chopped up or sent out of the country so who cares if the VIN is etched on all the windows, body panels etc. I was using it more as a tell to whether or not a car has had a panel replaced. I looked at one car already that had a fender replaced and was of course missing the vin, body was decent but I noticed a slight irregularity in hood gap and the missing tag just confirmed it. Its more of a quick thing to look for for me to tell if the car has had a panel replaced. I then looked at a real clean 2004 and walked the car extensively and tried to look for any paint or body work and noticed the rear trunk lid and quarters didn't have tags but thought they may be covered by the trim which is why I asked. Car looked all original I just wanted to see if I could confirm with OEM tags