How long does a dealer have to keep records of sold cars…I am having a moment of nostalgia and want to try and locate one of my first cars.
I don’t think it would be that long.
if they are still in business.
What year did your buy it?
I sold it in 1996 or so, it was a gift before and the person who had it doesn’t have any docs
It’s probably different from state to state.
There really are two different questions here.
How long do they have to keep the record of sold cars???
How long do they have to keep those records easily available??
A dealership may very well have the record of the sale of your car, but that doesn’t mean they have it readily available. Even in this day and age…there are still many small businesses that DON’T use a computers.
sounds like you don’t know what dealer it came from, or what year. Fat chance!
If you still have the VIN, the DMV will have information on the current owner (assuming it’s still in-state). Different states have different policies on just who they will divulge this information to, though, so you might need anyone from a car dealer to a private detective to an actual police officer. There is also a national database, but I’m pretty sure that one is only available to law enforcement.
If you still have the VIN, I’d just run it through CARFAX… Any chance you still have an old vehicle registration card? Any old repair receipts? Any old insurance proof cards? These all have the VIN on them.
Benzman