A lot of folks regret selling a car after they’ve sold it. But if you’re thinking about a car you sold years ago, why not see if you can buy it back?
While it may feel daunting to try to find a car that you once owned, if you have some data and a lot of commitment, it’s easier than you’d think to find it!
How to Find a Car You Previously Owned with the VIN?
To locate a previous car you owned using the VIN, the easiest way is to go online and check one of the websites like CarFax. You can also contact your state DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles).
It’s certainly possible that you will find your car without the VIN, but having the VIN makes it a million times easier.
If you’re wondering how you will find your VIN after all this time, continue reading, and we will help you get the information you need.
How to Locate the VIN?
Not having the VIN makes finding your car a huge longshot. But if you can find the VIN and don’t mind spending a little money, it’s pretty likely you’ll find it.
#1. Old Papers.
If you have your old registration of insurance papers, the chances are high that those will have your vehicle’s VIN. If you are a hoarder, or just keep good records, this is one of the easiest ways to track down the VIN for your old vehicle.
#2. The DMV!.
Just because you don’t have any of the old registration paperwork doesn’t mean that you can’t trace back to where your vehicle is sitting. For starters, the DMV usually holds all of that data.
You will need at least one of two pieces of information to trace back your vehicle’s VIN. First, if you are still using the same driver’s license number you were when you owned the vehicle, that’s all you need. Otherwise, you can still find the VIN if you can provide them the old license plate number.
You can either contact them by phone or visit them in person. Simply provide one of the two items to verify your identification and ask them if they can provide the VIN. They can not provide you with who owns the vehicle at this time, only the VIN.
#3. The Insurance Company.
If the DMV isn’t your cup of tea, or you don’t have one of the two pertinent pieces of information needed, then there is one more public monstrosity you can reach out to for information – the insurance company you were with when you owned the vehicle.
They have to keep track of records of every vehicle they have insured, so give them a call and hopefully they will tell you the VIN.
#4. The Bill of Sale.
Technically, this is a piece of paperwork, and I know that most people don’t think about this one as paperwork, but every bill of sale must contain the VIN of the vehicle.
So, if you can track down the bill of sale from the time you bought the vehicle, or when you sold it, you would have the VIN, too.
Now Find Your Car after you found your VIN!
The best thing you can do now that you have the VIN to track down your vehicle is to pay for a service such as CARFAX. While CARFAX is obviously not free, it is almost a guaranteed way to find your vehicle as long as it is still registered.
Full CARFAX reports will have everything you need to determine who the current owner is, the prior owners, mileage, maintenance records, accident history, and so much more.
Once you have the current owner’s information, you can then track them down and reach out to find your car!
If you’re not willing to spend the money for a CARFAX report, you can always attempt to Google the VIN, or use some free VIN decoders to attempt to track down the vehicle.
If you’re going to Google the VIN, make sure to put parenthesis around it, and in that case, Google will search the internet for exact matches. While it might not produce any results initially, if you keep attempting periodically, you might just get lucky!
If you are growing tired of waiting for results, or can’t find anything, CARFAX will always be an option for you as long as you are willing to pay for it.
Do keep in mind that although CARFAX is a great tool for tracking down your vehicle, CARFAX does not guarantee you will be able to track down the new owner. Meaning you might pay a little money, and may never find your vehicle.
How to Track Down Your Old Car Without the VIN
Not having the VIN for the vehicle you are trying to track down is going to make things much more difficult. While not impossible, you are definitely going to be fighting an uphill battle.
Using the license plate
The biggest, and best, opportunity to find your old vehicle is if you can remember the license plate number, or somehow find it on a piece of paper you had prior to losing the vehicle.
If you at least have the license plate number, you will be able to track down the VIN before moving onto investigating its current ownership.
Without the license plate
Without a license plate, your best chance of tracking the vehicle down, is finding the person you sold it to, and seeing if they still have it.
If they don’t, find out who they sold it to, and so on, until you track your car down. This search can continue on, until it leads into multiple owners down the trajectory.
Of course, you could run into the problem where you get to dead ends because someone tells you they don’t know who they sold it to.
Facebook Groups or Advertisement
This is where you can really try to go old school – you can throw up flyers and junk, but you might have more luck with Facebook groups and online forums.
This is particularly good if you know you had a unique vehicle, and car enthusiasts will go nuts trying to track it down. It’s still going to be somewhat of a crap shoot, but it’s better than writing it off entirely.
Just remember, if you once owned a Honda Civic or a Volkswagen Jetta, or another common vehicle, your chances of finding an old habitation are not even worth attempting. Also, if you ever did find it, how would you know it was yours?
Summary
If you’re still tied to a car you sold a while ago, you’re certainly not alone. The good news is that if you have a little information on the car and you are dedicated to finding it, finding your old vehicle is definitely a possibility!
And just remember, just because you found it doesn’t guarantee that the new owner will sell it to you, and even if they agree too sell it to you, they might not sell it to you at a fair price. So temper your expectations a little and enjoy the experience – that’s half the fun!