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In March 2012 my son purchased a 1997 Nissan Pulsar though a private seller on Trade Me. The vehicle is a tidy 1500cc 2 door car with a, then, current WOF (issued 7th march 2012) that we purchased a CarJam report for (the only alert was that the vehicle registration was overdue which we rectified the day of purchase).
During the following 6 months to September (when the next WOF was due) we put new front tyres on and a new car stereo, other than this we had not changed anything on the vehicle at all.
The vehicle failed the WOF inspection in September due to a headlight being out, the need for new wiper blades and the lack of a VIN plate. The wiper blades and headlight were replaced within a matter of a few days and we began the process we were advised regarding having a new VIN plate re-affixed.
Upon initial inspection we had not thought to check whether or not the vehicle had a VIN plate affixed and the fact that the CarJam report was clean we thought we had done all of the research necessary.
After about 2-3 weeks (when I continually phoned VTNZ Ashburton to see if they had received approval to re-affix a VIN plate) we were informed the application had been declined as the identification of the vehicle could not be confirmed.
Upon being informed of this I phoned the officer who had declined the application to enquire what else we could do to rectify this situation, she advised we go back to the previous owner and request he submit in writing all modifications made to the vehicle etc. I then contacted the Police to see if they could help in any way, even if they strip the car down to determine whether or not it may be stolen, but they insisted they have no interest in the car and were unable to help. They did however contact the service centre that issued the last WOF (they of course insisted there was a VIN plate at time of inspection although the person who issued the WOF was no longer employed there) and they advised the vehicle had been in a car v car accident in 2010. The following weekend we travelled back to the address we had purchased the vehicle from and the property was vacant. I emailed all of the information we had back to the officer and she passed this on to a Land Transport inspector who then came and inspected the car. He was satisfied that the vehicle is a good wee car but there seemed to be a definite lack of vehicle identification. The Land Transport inspector contacted Nissan to find out if there is another identification number stamped into this model of car, they advised there is not. He also contacted the Police who repeated the information I had provided Land Transport.
We did manage to track down a phone number for the previous owner, who I found intimidating, and the Land Transport inspector phoned him to ascertain why there was a lack of vehicle identification. The previous owner, no surprises, denied any knowledge and refused to refund our money for the car. We do not have a current address for him to lodge civil action against and believe that we would be unlikely to get our money back, or honest answers, in any case.
As we and the Land Transport inspector have not managed to come up with any answers the request to have the case re assessed has also been declined. The only thing we have been able to do since is send a plea to Land Transport advising them that we do not know, despite our earnest attempts to find out, why the VIN plate is missing but that we have a great wee car with a small engine (which is all we wish our son to have) that is road worthy but is unlikely to be allowed back on the road.
Do you have any advice or suggestions?
Can you advise if this vehicle is a NZ new or import? Have you checked for the chassis number on the B-pillar with the door open at the bottom edge or by the windscreen, drivers side on the top of the dash? Also check the rear windscreen as the vin number could be etched on the screen. Has the front windscreen ever been replaced? Can you respond with the information and vehicles rego number and if possible some photos around the front windscreen and engine compartment. E-mail the details to aatech@aa.co.nz and we will respond via e-mail.