1st. owner
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Instructor
Joined: Mar 2017
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From: Albuquerque N.M.
1st. owner
i just bought a 2014 2lt Z 51 from a dealer in colorado , a 2 owner car. does anyone have any luck finding the original owner of your corvettes? if so can you help a fella with advice. appriciate any info, oh and dealer coulndt help
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Unless you have some documents left with the car that would have a name/address on them, you may have a tough time. Dealers are usually very hesitant to give out any personal info on prior owners due to privacy concerns. You can try contacting the dealer you bought the car from and see if they would be willing to contact the prior owner and ask if that owner would mind if they shared contact info with you.
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From: Colorado
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Ask the dealership how they acquired the car. (trade, auction, etc.) If by trade, Colorado has a VIN search feature through DMV. Here is a link: https://dmv.colorado.gov/vehicle-record-searches May not give you everything, but it's a start.
Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
To do what? I sure as hell don't want you calling me about a car you bought. If the dealer gave you my info, I'd be pissed. The dealer could have bought it off some other shop so there might be no info there. Maybe post your car pic with a VIN so someone might recognize it and call you back? Someone who bought my truck googled the VIN and found me and sent me a PM so I can choose to respond or not.
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Like the others have posted, I doubt that the dealer would give you a prior owner's information
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Yeah, "non-disclosure," one of the drawbacks with many dealers, though not all. Hence, it cannot hurt to ask. Back in the day, many states' DMVs would supply prior registrations info and had formal paperwork (and fees) for such requests. Though I used this procedure from a number of states with great success, I doubt anywhere does it in our current hyper-leery/litigious society. 
Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
Yeah, "non-disclosure," one of the drawbacks with many dealers, though not all. Hence, it cannot hurt to ask. Back in the day, many states' DMVs would supply prior registrations info and had formal paperwork (and fees) for such requests. Though I used this procedure from a number of states with great success, I doubt anywhere does it in our current hyper-leery/litigious society.
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From: Bonney Lake Washington
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Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
Maybe these days, having a bunch of receipts to show maintenance isn't as big a deal as privacy, hence the policy?
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When I had my C6, I knew about what part of Florida the original buyer was from, although I lived in Illinois at the time. His first and last name scrolled across the DIC (I think its called), and I ended up finding him on google.
Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
Kinda creepy. Probably why they don't want to give contact information. I wiped out the radio stations and any identifying info when I sell.
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I sold my C6 on here to a guy in Texas. He knew the mods, the miles, the condition and saw I had registered on in here in 2001. He sent the entire payment direct to my checking account. I met him at the airport in Jacksonville, brought him to my home, gave him a guided tour of the car on the 45 minute ride and turned the car over to him. Loaded in the Helms manuals, both key FOBs and he left and had a ball driving his Supercharged C6 back to Texas.
Different situatioon for sure but apparently he's been happy with the car!
Elmer
Different situatioon for sure but apparently he's been happy with the car!
Elmer
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From: Chandler Arizona
The person who bought my C5 after I traded it in on the next Corvette worked as a contractor for the DMV so he just looked up my information. I wasn’t too happy about, at least the dealer wasn’t giving out customer information. The only upside was that I sold him my old C5 wheels, manuals, programmer. Etc.
Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
The person who bought my C5 after I traded it in on the next Corvette worked as a contractor for the DMV so he just looked up my information. I wasn’t too happy about, at least the dealer wasn’t giving out customer information. The only upside was that I sold him my old C5 wheels, manuals, programmer. Etc.
Drifting
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From: Lagrange KY
I’m probably in the minority, but on every car I’ve ever traded to a dealership, I’ve willingly informed them that a future buyer is welcome to call me with any questions I might be able to answer about the car. On many of them, I was the original owner and I supplied any maintenance or service records I had. Several new owners have taken advantage of the offer and contacted me before or after purchase. I enjoyed talking with them and hopefully putting their mind at ease. One individual even called me several years later to tell me how much he was still enjoying our former vehicle.
Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
I’m probably in the minority, but on every car I’ve ever traded to a dealership, I’ve willingly informed them that a future buyer is welcome to call me with any questions I might be able to answer about the car. On many of them, I was the original owner and I supplied any maintenance or service records I had. Several new owners have taken advantage of the offer and contacted me before or after purchase. I enjoyed talking with them and hopefully putting their mind at ease. One individual even called me several years later to tell me how much he was still enjoying our former vehicle.
Le Mans Master
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From: Charles Town WV
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I agree with you aklim... I dont want my info out there for a new owner on anything i sell or previous owner on anything i buy... I purchased my c5 from a guy locally, he was an older guy, cash deal, could tell he didn't really want to sell the car (wife pressured him into it) For the first year I owned it he would message me or call constantly to "check in" on it. He even got rude with me when he saw I'd started modding the car and told me I was ruining it (I was but that was my business lol). I actually got so fed up with it I changed my number. So yeah, these days I'd much prefer not knowing or have anyone know about whatever current vehicle I own.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Hartford WI
I agree with you aklim... I dont want my info out there for a new owner on anything i sell or previous owner on anything i buy... I purchased my c5 from a guy locally, he was an older guy, cash deal, could tell he didn't really want to sell the car (wife pressured him into it) For the first year I owned it he would message me or call constantly to "check in" on it. He even got rude with me when he saw I'd started modding the car and told me I was ruining it (I was but that was my business lol). I actually got so fed up with it I changed my number. So yeah, these days I'd much prefer not knowing or have anyone know about whatever current vehicle I own.
Le Mans Master
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From: Charles Town WV
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Corvette owners tend to be a different breed. I mean, it's not like you are even marrying his daughter. I didn't want to sell the C4 simply because I had too much in the mods and I wanted to run it into the ground. Unfortunately, I did it too well and didn't have a catastrophic failure which was the break point to get a new one. Finally the wife pushed me to go get a C7 because she was tired of that rickety noisy thing so there it is. Buyer was pretty good to me so I sent him a list of mods that could go with the car so he could get a better price for it.
Yeah it was wild for sure... yeah dont get me wrong, sometimes its cool if ya have a few questions, I told the guy who bought my cousins car he was welcome to reach out to me with any questions on the nitrous setup, we kept in touch for a little bit. I had a vested interest in seeing what the car did on the track for my own satisfaction but I usually just let him message me if he felt like it, not the other way around... so yeah I guess theirs situations where its cool but its gotta be a mutual thing from a private sale. I have a buddy who bought a c5z from some kid up in PA, I held onto the car for him for a bit while he was deployed... original owner would call me constantly asking about the car even though it was setting in my garage under a cover, soon as my buddy got back and took the thing it switched to him.