Aircooled VW South Africa

Hi everyone, my name is Mari. In 2017 I paid a company approx R180 000 to restore a 1969 VW lowlight pickup bus for me. Now 3 years (and thousands spent on investigators) later I finally have the bus but decided to sell it, as I just can't afford to convert it into a mobile coffee kombi, as originally planned.
Now the issue, we realized today only that the engine number differs from the number on the registration docs, the number on the vin plate is also different from the vin no on the registration docs. I also lost the vin plate (I only have a photo) as it was given to me loose and was not attached to the vehicle. The guy who did the "restoration" is ignoring me, he started working under a new name. I do have all correspondence between us, invoices, POP's and an affadavit from him, stating that he sold the vehicle to me.
Any advice on how I can go about sorting this mess out, as the buyer is still keen, provided the vin and paperwork is sorted out.

The engine number isnt an issue - this can easily be changed at police clearance.
The Vin being incorrect and you not having the papers for the car is a massive issue. There are one or two people on this forum who might be able to advise you properly, hopefully you get a good result

Thanks Tony

Is the vin number on the photo the same as the number on the papers??

If not the same , you have a problem, and will have to take it up with the seller or make a case against him.

If they are the same, your 1st call is to go to the licensing dept. and find out if the number is clear.

Now it is important that you tell them 1st you are thinking of buying this car, and you got this info over the internet, so if its stolen they do not arrest you or take the car away.

If it is clear then you go to the motor theft branch of the SAPS with all your papers and photo's and they will give you the documents to have the car re-stamped with a SAPS clearance number which you then re register.

Good luck

Look in the engine compartment right side for the stamped chassis number.

You as the buyer really should have checked this before paying for it. A VIN plate being removed is against the law and will land up having the vehicle impounded. The staff at police clearance facilities stare at VIN plates all day long and will notice immediately if something has been tampered with.

The papers you have may very well be from a different vehicle and have nothing to do with your kombi.

Share some information on the vin numbers (both body and papers) and we can try give guidence but you may have to cut it up for parts.

On whose name are those registration docs? Yours or the guy you got the vehicle from?