[Steve Drueck]

Schoneye The federal statue on VIN's applies to a stolen vehicle. If you are the "owner of said vehicle, or agent thereof" the exemption for removing/replacing is clearly stated. The law yields if you are "repairing" your own vehicle. So when a body shop is putting a front clip , cowl or body shell on a damaged vehicle it is a repair , not a criminal act. The law needs to be amended to state that if fraud is involved it is a criminal act, stolen car or not. Defining the exact nature of where fraud exists, however, is a real challenge . Sure, we all know it when we see it, but putting it in a legal code is the hurdle. Write your elected officials. Last I looked, however, they won't even jail a guy that stole 50 Billion from investors.