Hi everyone, i would like to know is there anyway i can find out the history and previous owners of my 54 Olds when it was a resident in the United States before it was shipped to the UK. Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers Clean Kev

 

We would all like this information about our cars. The problem is, it just ain't out there. No records are kept in any centralized location, unfortunately. It was starting only in 1977 that Olds kept the original sales records for each car sold, so if you have a '77 or later model, you can get a copy of the original dealer selling invoice and, I think, a copy of the window sticker. But for the '50s, no way.

Your only hope is whatever anyone else has to do if they want to trace the ownership of a pre-1977 Olds. Start with the person you bought it from. Ask him where he got it, then find that person and ask him where, when, and from whom HE bought it, and keep going until you reach the person who bought it new in 1954. In all likelihood, this process will not get any farther than the person you bought it from. People move around. They don't leave forwarding addresses. The don't retain records for cars they no longer own. They have bad memories. They die. For a car as old as a '54, it's entirely possible that the original purchaser is now dead.

You could also try going back through state titling and licensing records. If you know what state the car was titled in last, you can contact their bureau of motor vehicles, give them the VIN, and see if they have anything in their records. Some states allow searching through title records online.

Keep in mind also that privacy issues arise. A state title bureau might be able to tell you that, yes, your car was titled in this state from 1972 to 1985 or something like that, but they probably won't tell you the name or address or anything like that of the person or persons who actually owned it.

In short, if you really want to pursue this, you need to become your own private detective. Doing it from overseas makes it doubly complicated, but I'm sure it can be done with modern email and websites. But even with all this, keep in mind that the most likely outcome is that your search will hit a brick wall at some point, and you'll have to be content with whatever history you were able to obtain up to that point.

In case you're wondering, the answer is yes. I've attempted to trace the ownership history for a couple of old Oldsmobiles I've owned, one a '64 and the other a '75, and the above has been my experience.