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It is chassis number only there as you say ,on the vin plate the only other stuff is weights etc colour code and engine number ,contact a user on here called monster as he does vin plates in stainless steel
I would do all the normal checks on the car hpi etc ,sometimes if the car had a front panel people forgot the plate and it was chucked away on the old panel ,if the floor looks tampered with walk away
Hi I have done hpi check all clear but got give chassis number v5 sereil number and some else so check chassis number on floor then I'm guessing needs original floor pan
Usually it's the floor number missing and the bin is there.
IFC the engine number is stamped on a square flat bit of the block above the alternator,check that and see if it matches the v5.
I'd make sure the floor vin doesn't have signs of welding ect, have a look of it from underneath aswell. HPI report being clear is only half of the battle really.
Does the seller offer any reason to why the vin is missing?
definately check it thoroughly, i stupidly spaffed my load on a lovely looking s2 when i was young and stupid, i didnt notice that the vin plate was missing when i looked at it, when i noticed checked the floor number and it had been perfectly cut around and some steel welded in, further checks from the vin number on the v5 showed the car up to be a stolen one that was never found from the mid 90s, luckily i returned the car to the seller as i didnt want anything to do with it
Surely the best decision is to walk away. If you have these doubts now what's it going to be like when you decide to sell it. Plenty more out there and if this one's cheap there's usually a reason.
without any firm documented proof of vehicle identity and why numbers were removed Im with John just walk away as ringing/cloning etc was rife back when these were on every street corner
Has the car been painted? When I got my car resprayed they took it off and never put it back - does the chassis number at the drivers door match book and does the reg on the book match the indent of the reg on the side windows?