Favor: can anyone here legally check a (non-Mini) VIN or license plate for name and address of a previous owner for me? It's for a good reason...

Details: I recently bought a Montero Sport as a second vehicle. In taking the interior apart to clean and update it, I found a gold & diamond wedding band. The dealer I bought the rig from tells me he has no information on the PO (I think he's full of it) so that's a dead end. Researching the license plate brings up scammy online companies that don't promise anything except recurring monthly charges. Any cop could instantly punch in the (previous) plate number and get a name & address, but California DMV will not give out that info, even in this circumstance.

I am absolutely not asking anyone to break any laws or website protocol, and I'm not trying to profit in any way from this. I just want to find out if the ring has any emotional or sentimental value to someone who might have lost it. I would hope that some stranger would do the same if it were me who lost something precious.

 

How 'bout give it to the cops and let them bird dog it. Make sure you've got pictures and documentation that they have it. A common statement on this forum: "Without pictures, it didn't happen."

 

1. Get a carfax report. That will show where the prior owner serviced the car.

2. Contact one of those service locations. Talk to the manager. Give the manager your contact information, and ask them to contact the prior owner and share your contact info. The shop should have some record of the customer tied to the VIN. I might not tell them specifically what you have found, other than "something of value which belongs to their customer and you want to return".

This way, no one is giving out private information without consent, and the prior owner can reach you if they choose.

Keep in mind there may have been more than one prior owner, you may need to repeat the process until someone contacts you and can verify the ring with details or a photo.

Good luck, you are doing the right thing.