Can't run my VIN @ the dealer!

[LuvMyJ]

Hey all,

Has anyone else run into this... The local Infiniti dealer won't give me the history on my vehicle. They claim that doing so would put them in violation of the Privacy Act! Talk about going OVERBOARD! I tried to tell them that as long as they don't give me any info about the previous owner they would be fine, but they wouldn't budge. It seems to me that when I bought the car, I also bought the rights to any information about the car (there were no restrictions stating otherwise on my sales contract!). This type of ignorance is frustrating. It might be fun to see how the Privacy Act stands up to the Freedom of Information Act, LOL.

Cheers,Bob

[gloucester Q]

wow-i've never heard that before. i've done 2 things when buying used cars. if i call up a dealer BEFORE i've bought the car, he'd pull up the history and give me a 'feel' for how it's been treated and what's been done to it, but he wouldn't print it for me. after i bought the car (not at the dealer), then the dealer treated all the info just as if it was mine. i don't know, your situation sounds pretty lame to me. maybe try another dealer? or perhaps try infiniti's 800 national number, which i do not have handy at the moment, to clarify their position? good luck.

[PalmerWMD]

Go to a different dealer.Obviously these guys are confused.

Fred..

[hal90000]

I bought a Q45 in December of last year. I read on this user's group that you could have a history done at the dealer. So, I had the dealer here run the history. He even printed it out and had it waiting for me. It goes all the way back to day one and included three different dealerships on it. The car is a 1996.

[lfootmatt]

I sweet talked the girls anwsering the phone at Scottsdale and Pinnacle Infiniti to both fax me the printouts for my 93 J30, before I bought it! Scottsdale couldnt pull the whole thing up due to computer problems. Pinnacle got the whole thing to me.

I don't think there is any expectaion of privacy for the service records for a vehicle other than for the current owner. The previous owner has no stake in the vehicle, therfore, no expectation of privacy for the service records.

Just tell them that you just want the service history and to redact (mark out) any identifiers for the prior owners.

Privacy act my A$$.

Surely there is at least 1 lawyer on the forum?! Any oppinion on this?

[natsoundup]

I had problems once with the dealer's computer.....they gave me the 800 number..... the people on the other end of the phone are always great.

[HeavyDuty]

In my case, at least, my records had been purged & were not available at the dealer. The lady at the 800# that I now forgot was able to pull them from archive & provide me with a complete set of records.

[LuvMyJ]

Thanks guys, I've got the 800# in the owner's manual. I'll give it a try.

[Q45Viper]

Do NOT tell them you are not the original owner. They won't even notice. It's all about the VIN not the owners name.

[AlabamaDan]

Hey guys, I'm having a similar issue with the dealerships here. Why are they so difficult!? Anyway, can someone give me that Infiniti number?

[HeavyDuty]

I *think* I was able to get them at 800-NISSAN1. If not, they can give you the number there.

[LuvMyJ]

I figure some lawyer type really dogged his Infiniti and then threatened to sue the dealer if they released any info when he was trying to sell/trade it (probably for a Lex, too!). It's an absurd policy, in no way related to the Privacy Act (which, as a gov't employee, I've been subject to and held in compliance of for the past 2 decades). It's funny how everyone seems to think that the Privacy Act is something new.

[AlabamaDan]

The Telephone Number is 1-800-662-6200

She was unable (or unwilling) to fax the info to me. What she did do was "restore" the information so that the local dealership would be able to take care of me! She said it'll take 24 hours, so we'll see how it goes.

[maxnix]

The Telephone Number is 1-800-662-6200

She was unable (or unwilling) to fax the info to me. What she did do was "restore" the information so that the local dealership would be able to take care of me! She said it'll take 24 hours, so we'll see how it goes.

I don't understand this as once you register your car with Infiniti as the owner, all records should become available to you.

Dealer record retrieval has never been a problem for me.