Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 22:24:56 -0400
From: Joe Elliott <jee@domain.elided>
Subject: re: "164 Spider"
At 11:42 PM +0000 7/13/03, alfa-digest wrote:
He registered it by going to the DMV and
telling them that it was a "164 Spider."
I've pondered similar scams, but don't they have a range of valid 164
VIN #'s? I mean, a 'Sud Sprint looks a lot like GTV-6 to a DMV
goon... Could an SZ be a 164 variant too? Can I get a Maserati
3200GT and tell them it's a 4200? Can a Peugeot 205GTi be a 505GTi?
The possibilities are endless if only the manufacturer and model year
have to coincide. Of course, I imagine that this is borderline
fraudulent, but I wouldn't have any problem registering an R5 Turbo
as a "Le Car," and that's a car that I could actually own some day.
But that makes me think of something--besides trying to register an
RS200 as a Taurus--what keeps 959 owners from registering them as
911's?
I think the real issue may be getting it into the country in the
first place, something that the Navy Captain didn't have to worry
about. Passing the local smog check is no big deal, even on a gray
market '83 3.5L BMW with no catalyst or oxygen sensor...
- -Joe