eBay VIN replica/ replacement, door jamb sticker

73Polara360

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Hello,

Incoming long question, apologies.

TL;DR:
The short question is: has anyone used replacement Mopar VIN tags and stickers off of eBay before to replace damaged ones that fell off or became unreadable?

The long question and and backstory is:

My car was previously without title and changed hands a few times before being registered and brought back onto the books. Along the way somebody has removed not only the door jamb VIN sticker but also the radiator support VIN sticker and even the VIN plate at the edge of the windshield, probably in an attempt to get the vehicle registered cheaply because it costs money to research previous owners, dig up paperwork and bring the vehicle back on to the books legally where I live (British Columbia Canada)

According to the previous owner, he knew the original owner and was able to track down the original address and title and do all this leg work, something the other owners along the way could not do, but whatever, he got it back onto the books, and then I bought it. So the car was brought back onto the books and is currently legally registered to me, zero issues there it's all legit. Her sordid history and the men who previously loved her is all water under the bridge, she's legally mine.

Further, the registered VIN is definitely correct because I found the broadcast sheet and it matches the registration. So she is who she says she is.

So my problem is only that she's physically missing her VIN tags, nothing to do with the actual vehicle registration or identity being correct. As far as the vehicle licensing authorities know there's nothing wrong with the car. My concern is just that because it's missing its VIN it could be mistaken as stolen, or a cop having a bad day could give me a hard time because by law this information should obviously be visible.

In this case, If I told them my car was missing it's VIN plate and stickers I would have to go through this whole process of having a brand new VIN issued and new hardware (little dash plate, sticker) installed by an authorized facility. This would render the broadcast sheet incorrect as the new VIN trumps all others. There are of course fees and paperwork required in addition to whatever the inspection facility would charge to install this stuff.

Rather than do all that I would just like to purchase period-correct VIN plate and sticker off eBay, there are many vendors, and replace these items myself. Short of carbon dating the VIN plate or subpoenaing my eBay purchase history no one would be the wiser. There is no legal issue with the VIN, it's just physically missing because some idiot decided to try and take the shortcut and scrape everything off the car. I don't want a new VIN issued, I want the car to have what's on the broadcast sheet.

Has anyone dealt with any of the Mopar VIN tag and door jamb sticker replacement vendors before? Also, can anyone provide a photo of the proper format and style so I can choose the correct one? It's for a 1973 Dodge Polara. There are a few different Chrysler sticker formats available.

Thank you for reading this far my apologies for writing this giant wall of text but I wanted to provide the correct background as opposed to being vague where the VIN is concerned.
 
n this case, If I told them my car was missing it's VIN plate and stickers I would have to go through this whole process of having a brand new VIN issued and new hardware (little dash plate, sticker) installed by an authorized facility. This would render the broadcast sheet incorrect as the new VIN trumps all others. There are of course fees and paperwork required in addition to whatever the inspection facility would charge to install this stuff.
That is what you need to do.

Someplace, somewhere, that VIN tag is floating around and it's likely gonna pop up sooner or later, possibly on a stolen car. That will lead back to you and a lot of questions why your car has a bogus VIN tag. I don't know how serious they take that north of the border, but lawyers are expensive and jail is no fun.

You have matched your broadcast sheet to the other paperwork. Have you matched it with the other stamped VIN lactations on the car? You need to do that and verify it's the car you think it is. I don't know exactly where the VIN locations are on the body. The VIN would also be on the trans and engine, if they haven't been replaced.

FWIW, I know a few friends that have gone through something similar. Cars that were wrecked, totaled and rebuilt/repaired. Cars that were stolen and came back with no tags. And cars that were bought with an assigned VIN and tag. All those cars drive just fine and you can't see the VIN from the driver's seat.
 
As long as the metal VIN tag is still present and it matches the "NEW" door jamb sticker you shouldn't have any issues.
 
I think he is missing everything and only has a build sheet.
Only option at that point is to have a state VIN inspection. DO NOT SPEND ANY MONEY OR DO ANY WORK ON THE VEHICLE, until your state inspection service confirms the VIN and legal ownership status. Make an appointment and trailer your vehicle to the inspection center. Even if it runs and drives do not drive the car until legal determinations are made. YOU ARE AT RISK OF BEING CITED IF YOU DRIVE A NONREGISTERED VEHICLE OR WORSE AN ILLEGALLY REGISTERED VEHICLE.
I have sold literally thousands of cars over 25 + years and the wild west days of slipping something by authorities are pretty much long gone. If you follow through with the inspection process you are building a legal foundation incase you need to unwind your purchase, even it the transaction is old. You mentioned a possible ebay purchase, they are very agressive in maintaining legal ownership rules/laws and are much more flexible with regard to time of purchase and current dates.
 
This is a very common issue with E body mopars. Dash pads get replaced with non cracked dash's and the vin tag disappears.
Since you have a title and registration and a broadcast sheet it seems pretty common place to get a new vin tag.
Verify the body stamps 100% though. Removable parts like motor and trans don't necessarily verify the car body itself. Those body stamp numbers are what will be used to verify the car for a re-vin so make sure they are legit.
Probably gonna need to do some research through many old for sale ads to come up with the correct door sticker font.
ECS is the go to company but they do require proof of ownership.
 
Well as a follow-up to this..

I received this very high quality VIN replacement tag.
The vendor was very responsive, professional, and it arrived quickly and had no problem clearing customs.
He even advised me on the addition of the asterisks at both ends to make it fully period-correct.

For the curious: my original rambling post wasn't clear - the vehicle is correct and registered properly in all respects, there are no issues. I actually lost the ownership papers once this summer already while working on the car and I had them print me off new ones and email them to me. The reason I ordered this was because some idiot had pried off the tag previously and its physically missing. I am not trying to establish a new title on the vehicle using this tag, it already has a clean title. I'm aware there's a special process that requires you to re-establish the title from scratch but that's a little bit like taking a dollar you found on the street to the police station and turning it in. I'm fine with the teensy bit of risk I've taken here and VERY satisfied with the time and money I've saved.

Vendor:
Security Measure

I will be using ECS for the doorjamb tag as this vendor doesn't produce those unfortunately, and ECS likewise doesn't produce the dash tags.

PXL_20250708_022531235.MP.jpg
 
For the curious: my original rambling post wasn't clear - the vehicle is correct and registered properly in all respects, there are no issues.
Ahhh... My response would have been quite different if I'd known you had registered the car with the original VIN.

My impression was the paperwork with the original VIN was gone. Hence my remark about it coming back to haunt you.

I'd still advise documenting the other VIN stampings on the car with pictures... Just in case... And not telling a cop or the DMV that this is a replacement tag. The less they know, the better.

I'm really glad this worked out and I'm going to bookmark that seller.
 
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