Can't Make Out Your VIN?

If your answer to that question is “yes,” there’s a chance your vehicle is going to become property of the State of Arizona at some point in the future. A.R.S. § 28-4594(A) provides that when the VIN of a vehicle or of a major component of a vehicle has been removed, defaced, altered or destroyed without the permission the Arizona Department of Transportation, the vehicle is contraband. If the state decides your vehicle is contraband, it can seize and destroy it.

That might mean that every vehicle with a non-manufacturer or out-of-state VIN on any major component could be seized when driven or ridden through Arizona. When a new VIN is attached by another state to any major part of a recovered vehicle, that vehicle might be forever barred from use in Arizona.

Are you merely an innocent purchaser? Was it previously titled in another state? Is the VIN just tough to make out because it’s an old vehicle? Based on the language of the statute, you could be out of luck. Looks like Gilbert might have some competition for the title to your vehicle.