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He doesn't need the VIN #, just the year, make and model of your car.
I've owned cars for nearly 20 years and never have been asked for my VIN # to have parts ordered.
You're living in the past, Pagan. Having the vin number for input into the factory parts systems represents a significant time savings and improves accuracy in parts specifying.
Cars have manuf region and date stamp.
That's enough to pull up the part of your make model. Baloney that Vin is the only resource for looking up a part.
It's quicker to punch in month date then the 16-20 character vin.
Anyways most inspection shops report to the state dmv when a pass or fail happens. That might be why he needed it.
Cars have manuf region and date stamp.
That's enough to pull up the part of your make model. Baloney that Vin is the only resource for looking up a part.
It's quicker to punch in month date then the 16-20 character vin.
Anyways most inspection shops report to the state dmv when a pass or fail happens. That might be why he needed it.
Oh, you can get there with just the year and model, eventually and possibly with some guessing and wrong choices. Even the date will not give all the information needed to find the right part the first time through the system, however. You may end up looking at footnotes regarding whether the vehicle has ABS and then if it has traction control or which transmission and transfer case combination is in that particular vehicle, for example. What tint is on that quarter glass is not going to be the same for all cars of the same model made on the same day.
Using the VIN allows the parts specifying system to select the parts unique to a particular vehicle. I'll take the few seconds to get the VIN and punch it in rather than guessing at a part and finding out three days later when it arrives that it's wrong.
He passed the vehicle inspection. He offered to get a quote for the repair. You opted to DIY.
What can he do about it? Nothing. If he "turns you in" he'll have to admit that your car needed a repair which he did not do prior to passing it. If "someone" should come after you about the faulty part, you have already repaired it so there's nothing amiss.
I live in a mandatory-inspection state and when I take my car to the garage, I must give them my current registration and current insurance card. When I look at my copy of the work order for the inspection, the VIN number is neatly printed in the block provided for that purpose; also my name, address and phone number. Pretty much everything that's printed on my registration.
With all the information that's on line about you, your wife, your kids, your car, house, even your dog, last thing you need to be worried about is the garage having your VIN number.
I didn't like that he photocopied my registration either. He said something about having the VIN# so that he could look up the part.
I think he may also have been trying to scare me into getting it fixed with them (or else he would turn me in)
Except that he passed you and you got the sticker and you're good for another year...
My wife's car needed a bunch of stuff, including one thing to pass the inspection...I said "Thanks, I'll take it back and take care of it." I saved $200.
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