Looking for the previous owner

[Heat-Med]

Hi all,

I am looking to find the previous owner of a car I purchased last summer. It is a 1968 Coronet RT. I bought the car from a ‘flipper’ that was located in San Diego, CA. The guy did not have a lot of information on the car other than saying it was ‘complicated’. He said he would reach out to the previous owner, but I would have to wait for him to get back to me—never heard from him. I guess he may have been some sort of a software developer. Not sure if any of this info sounds familiar, but if does, please reach out to me. I had a possible lead from a guy in Pennsylvania ,but that went nowhere. Anything you can share would be extremely beneficial.

Note: pics attached are from the original for sale ad—not personally taken by me.

 

[topside]

Pretty car. If that's its original plate, it was a Calif car - at least when new.
There was a Mopar club in San Diego 40 years ago; maybe someone here recalls its name and/or a contact.
I'll assume you've Googled the VIN and nothing came up like a previous ad ?
That said, I've tried that when trying to find cars I've sold, and had no success.

 

[dadsbee]

Sure hope you had a clean title from that "flipper" !

 

[Heat-Med]

Yes, I have googled, I have posted in multiple sites and ‘creeped’ on Facebook. Best I can tell from the name on the original title is the previous owner may have been a software developer that sold his business to Godaddy. I am not sure if that is accurate though. Whoever did the car, looks like they did a full scale rotisserie restoration. Someone out there must know something, but I have not been lucky yet.

 

[Dave6T4]

Pretty car in that colour combination. A friend has a '69 Super Bee in the same colours. He won it as a draw prize at MoparFest in Ontario, Canada. He used to have a vanity plate "FREE BEE" on it. Factory A/C car with green motor instead of orange.

 

[Heat-Med]

Pretty car in that colour combination. A friend has a '69 Super Bee in the same colours. He won it as a draw prize at MoparFest in Ontario, Canada.

Your friend is a pretty lucky dude or dudet! I was not as lucky, I had to buy it, haha.

 

[kiwigtx]

Sure hope you had a clean title from that "flipper" !

I sure hope that "Complicated" doesn't mean the same thing as "stolen"

 

[Heat-Med]

I sure hope that "Complicated" doesn't mean the same thing as "stolen"

A valid CA title came with the car and was reissued via interstate to WI. Would that be possible to do if it was stolen?

 

[Builderguy]

Sadly you can get a valid title even if the car was stolen. This happens when thieves do a VIN swap from a similar clean car. Checking all the vehicle's identification numbers will prevent most of this. I say most because a determined thief can swap out a lot of numbered parts (engine, trans, fender tags, vin tag, trunk rail tag, and cowl numbers if the money is right) to make it all look legit. Good news, most car thieves will not go that far.
A good paper trail will help protect you criminally, but not financially.

My guess would be that your car is probably fine and the flipper just did not want you to know who the original owner was, for whatever reason.

 

[Heat-Med]

Sadly you can get a valid title even if the car was stolen. This happens when thieves do a VIN swap from a similar clean car. Checking all the vehicle's identification numbers will prevent most of this. I say most because a determined thief can swap out a lot of numbered parts (engine, trans, fender tags, vin tag, trunk rail tag, and cowl numbers if the money is right) to make it all look legit. Good news, most car thieves will not go that far.
A good paper trail will help protect you criminally, but not financially.

My guess would be that your car is probably fine and the flipper just did not want you to know who the original owner was, for whatever reason.

Yes, it’s a huge mystery. When I got the car it still was in the original owners name, never signed over to the dealer. Do you think that screams trouble? Someone out there knows something. It came from a reputable’flipper’dealer. It seemed that the dealer was crafty and buys cars from people that are in the need of selling. Someone spent A LOT of time/effort to get it in the condition it’s in.

 

[Builderguy]

No screaming here. A lot of flippers will buy a car and ask the owner to only sign the title and use a bill of sale for the rest. That way the flipper can pass the vehicle on to the next buyer without any additional paperwork (insert SALES TAX here) and no delay as they can not legally sell a car (at least in MI) unless they have a title in hand. The original seller is supposed to fill out a MI vehicle title with the name of purchaser, address, milage, date, and amount of sale but that is not enforced too heavily as the SOS usually only wants info in the blank areas when the actual transfer of ownership is done. They don't usually care if the signature is in black ink and the rest of the title is filled out in blue ink. Or if the signature looks like two chickens got in fight on an ink pad. Can not speak for other states.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have no advice for you BUT I do think that these cars have a rear end that is in the Top 5 of all time!

 

[MarPar]

Gorgeous Coronet.

In our day and age, it is tough to find the info that you seek; but don't get me wrong, the search is part of the fun!

Looks like there is a fender tag under da hood dere, guy. Put a pic if you don't mind.

Also, do you have a broadcast sheet? No big deal if you do not have the BS, lots of Mopars don't.

The above questions are just cuz Im a Mopar nerd. lol Doesn't have anything to do with legitimacy.

 

[MarPar]

I have no advice for you BUT I do think that these cars have a rear end that is in the Top 5 of all time!

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Agreed!!

One nit though...I would replace yer last pic with this one

I know, I know. Wrong tail pipe tips, but IDGAF. It's muh car. lol

 

[1 Wild R/T]

@68 Coronet R/T

 

[fesser]

I wish I was the original owner of that car. If I was, I would be selling body parts and bodily fluids to try to raise the money to buy it back from you. That color combo is beautiful. The whole car is.

 

[MarPar]

@68 Coronet R/T

 

[AFT1973]

Best of luck with your search. I am trying to piece together the history on a ‘73 Roadrunner. Also in CA. I’ve submitted a request to CA DMV for a history report. Waiting on the response to see if it was worth it.

You have a nice car there. Enjoy it! See you on the road.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Best of luck with your search. I am trying to piece together the history on a ‘73 Roadrunner. Also in CA. I’ve submitted a request to CA DMV for a history report. Waiting on the response to see if it was worth it.

You have a nice car there. Enjoy it! See you on the road.

View attachment 1573847

California DMV won't help.... It's against the law... Look up Robert John Bardo

 

[Heat-Med]

California DMV won't help.... It's against the law... Look up Robert John Bardo

That was my experience, too. They did provide me the last person it was titled to, but I already had the name on the title I transferred from. Not getting the connection with Mr Bardo??