Well....as I understand it, Carproof is Canada's answer to Carfax. You order a search of the VIN and you get a complete history of the car. In this particular instance I'm not so sure. Did it originally come from the US? Was it registered in the US...in CA...in Holland? If it were me and it was REALLY important to me....like.....if I REALLY wanted that car, I would roll the dice and spend the money for a Carproof search. I'm not so sure it costs that much for just ONE car. If that didn't work I would spend more and get a Carfax in the USA. That car has a record SOMEWHERE. But...it may stop after it was shipped around to different countries. HOWEVER...all you want to know is the FIRST registration date and that should show up on the search. Either in CA or the US.
Senri....here is a sample copy of a Carfax report.... http://www.carfax.com/phoenix/vehicle_history/SampleReport.cfx?reportName=oneOwnerCleanLateModel
As I think about it, Senri...I think these companies may be the answer to your dilemma. Sorry I didn't think of it myself.
Now, I have just bitten the bullet and ordered a Carproof report. It contains only one sentence (next to the type): "Warning Our Search for this VIN returned no registration or other history file for this vehicle anywhere in Canada or the United States. Please double check the VIN to make sure that the VIN you supplied was accurate." I think it was worth $35....
It happens. Well...maybe it's time to check things on YOUR side of the pond. That car has to have record of it coming into Holland or somewhere over there. I am a bit amazed that there is no record of it being shipped to a dealer somewhere. Maybe you start with the guy that owns it and work backwards. OR...tell the seller you will buy it if he produces records. But I suppose the price would go up if HE knew.
Just thought of something else. Since the car is an '83....why not just call up the DMV (RMD?) and ask if that is sufficient. I know the wording has been changed but that could be a clerical error. That looks like a nice car and, if you really want it and the price is right, you might want to check with them to see what the actual law is. No need to tell them the VIN...just find out if the info you have is sufficient. If it DOES need to be registered by law then I would search it over there as I stated above.
I did PM SENRI my ideas on the problem, its seems a bit over my head at this point.. I puzzled as what he can do,, its like the Govt is just waiting for a mistake so they can toss another car
The VIN shows that it is an Canadian build car, so just assumed it had originally been sold in Canada and exported later. It is possible this is not the case. Chrysler has always been very active in Europe, selling vehicle already in the 70's and having a factory in Switserland. My first car was a 72 Valiant that was build there. As AMC's are pretty rare here, I never considered the possibility that the car was originally sold in Holland or even Europe. But that might just be the case. Still, something strange happened with this car somewhere in time as I can't believe this 1983 car had its real first registration in 1989. In addition, Holland requires that a car has the VIN as a frame number, so stamped somewhere. A lot of American cars didn't have that, so these numbers were stamped in by hand when coming into the country. This Eagle has the frame number (=VIN) in the frame and on the registration papers, but it only consists of the last 7 digits of the original VIN, as can be found on the dash and doorjamb. It is not a problem or anything, but I have never seen it before. Well, the story continues and I will try to contact the RDW about it here and see what they actually require for a registration paper change. Thanks guys for all your help this far!
That car has a JEEP insignia on it where an AMC insignia should be on a US or Canada car. I'm willing to bet it was exported new as a Jeep product, rather than an AMC-badged car. It was most likely a built-for-export vehicle to start with, which is why it would not show up on any US Carfax or Canandian Carproof search. A car never registered here to start with, will not show up on these searches. You have a car that was built for Europe to start with. Is the speedometer showing the metric measurements in larger number than the miles, or is it metric-only, perhaps? Either way, you definitely have a car that was NOT built for the US, to be sure. That looks like a very nice car there! Hope things work out where it's in your driveway, Senri! Just as an aside, in 1990, I bought a '67 Belvedere I wagon in Antwerp, Belgium, that was sold new to an undertaker there for use as a funeral car. When it was imported, the VIN number was stamped in fairly large characters on the passenger side frame rail, at the bottom where the inner fender attaches to the frame rail. Even back in 1967, this was a requirement.
Thanks for the reply Patrick. I agree that I also think that the car was build for Europe. As I am in Italy at the moment, I can't check the speedometer, but didn't Canadian cars have them in km/h as well? The Jeep badge thing brought me to the same idea, I even thought that maybe Jeep Europe was selling AMC's this way, but the registration papers state AMC, so it is more likely it was rebadged later. As the past week has been very busy, I didn't get around to call the DMV, but I certainly will when I will be back!
Yes Canadian cars have kms since 1979 i believe. It shouldn't matter when it was first in service it was still made in 83. Good luck keep us posted.
I can't remember the exact year Canada went metric/kms but in 77 new Fords (Dad bout one) they were km/mph combined, if I remember my 77 Impala was the same.
Senri....I'm still anxious to know what you found out about the Eagle?? Is it buyable? What's up with that car?
I just returned from my holiday in Italy, so I haven't done anything on the subject yet. I have seen though that it is still for sale, so this week I will give a call to the DMV to see what they think about the matter. I"ll keep you posted!
