Reason for researching car history?

[Sharp64]

I’ve noticed what seems to me to be an uptick lately in the “who has info on this car” threads lately. Granted I’ve only been here a couple of years and not sure if this has always been like this or more of a recentish trend? My real question is in what are people’s motivations behind attempting to get information regarding previous owners? Is it just idle curiosity or something deeper such as attempting to build historical data to potentially increase the perceived value in the car?

I can say, that the current 60 that I recently bought I know the last owner and that he purchased 20 years or so ago. I know a little of his history and a little of the cars and that’s good enough for me. If the info was presented to me, I would preserve it but I have little interest in pursuing detailed info back to the original owner. My 64, I have bits and pieces of info that I’ve pieces together and have a fair idea (I think) of its history. But no other car have I ever owned have I had any info nor have I attempted to find any. I simply didn’t care. But I see people here with way more info than I have ever had posting up all sorts of things desperately searching for more info.

Is this a new trend? Are they hoping for some special link? What are their motivations. Does anyone give a crap?

Thoughts?
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[[email protected]]

I've noticed over the years that certain makes/models of cars generate more of the "history hunt" than others. VW used to advertise as,"the best loved car in the world", and in one sense it seems to be true. To me it harkens back to a time when I was young, had little money, lots of freedom, and minor responsibilities. A VW was cheap transportation, easy to fix, and a lot of families had one. I would be curious whatever happened to my &# Sports Bug, my all time favorite.

[[email protected]]

Thats 73 Sports Bug, sorry.

[vwracerdave]

I've noticed the same thing and I feel it is directly related to the same recent Internet surge of finding out your family history thru these foolish DNA testing kits. I don't give a damn about any relative that died 150 years ago before I was born. If somebody can scam you out of money to make up a story about your ancestors then they can also do the same for a bullshit story about you car.

Yes many VW owners are looking for a history story to make their VW special and more valuable, which it won't.

If the current owner of any VW I have ever sold in the past showed up at my door wanting info on when I owned it they would get the middle finger and the door slammed in their face.
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2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK
Featured in Dec. 2001 HOT VW's Magazine page 63

Watch my racing video's http://www.youtube.com/user/okvwracer/videos

[busdaddy]

It's nothing new, those requests have been posted for as long as I've been here and I've heard them from others before that. It's almost always from someone in the UK who's recently aquired a North American vehicle.

Cars there get yearly inspections and carry a log book of sorts that stays with the car it's whole life, it lists owners and major repairs or engine swaps, they are hoping there's similar record keeping here I assume.
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[iowegian]

..........................

[Sharp64]

[Mos6502]

We get it, we get it, somebody values something you don't give a crap about, therefore they're fools.

Lot of people look at (all of) us and ask what kind of idiots like driving 40 or 50 year old, slow, dangerous cars around. Maybe they're right? Maybe there is nothing enjoyable or interesting about driving these cars. Why give a crap?

What astonishes me, is the people who claim they "don't care" about something, but then spend their time typing out that they don't care about something. If they really didn't care at all, why even bother telling anybody?

Man, I remember when the VW scene was so easy going...

[Sharp64]

Man, I remember when people didn’t get offended by a question.

As I said I was just curious if there was a specific reason people were asking or if it was just idle interest. Guess I believe people do things because there is a motivation behind it whether they admit it or not. I’m interested in the motivations to the point that they feel their need for this information outweighs another persons privacy. I can remember one instance where a new member posted multiple threads asking for info on a car. He was given the info (seller was actually a member here) yet continued to post up asking for more. Another post just popped up that was initiated like 11 years ago which included photos of documents with names and addresses of PO’s asking for more. I’m curious as to what the motivation is for people to feel as if it’s their right to this info? Is it a monetary motivation? Is it entitlement? Lack of social skills?

Human behavior intrigues me and I often try to understand it. Kind of like when people come here to ask why their car doesnt have a year correct part and rather than accept that it was simply changed at some point want to believe some improbable scenario that their car is “special” and had parts factory installed 3-4 months prior to their introduction. Which is part of my theory people want info. Everyone wants to think their car is special. It has a link to someone famous or lead some exciting life. They are cars, most time commuter cars that went from point A to point B most of their lives. But still there is a need to feel ours is special and researching it’s past will lead to those details.
_________________
1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[iowegian]

Life is full of mysteries.
For instance, I often wonder what motivates someone to give their antique cars cute "names" and have those "names" included every time they post?

[Sharp64]

[Cusser]

I really don't have "names" for my vehicles.

My 1970 VW sedan is "the Volkswagen"
My 1971 VW convertible is "the convertible"
My 1988 Mazda B2200 truck is "the Mazda truck"
My 1998 Frontier is "the Frontier"
My 2004 Frontier is "Berea's truck" because I bought it from Berea
Mrs. Cusser's 2005 Yukon is "the Yukon"
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Mos6502]

[Bob Loblaw]

[Mos6502]

Offended, no. Amused, yes.

[Sharp64]

[ZENVWDRIVER]

... not exactly the same, but back in '94, we moved from NJ to Oklahoma - bought an old farm.

One day, an old guy drives in and told us he grew up on this farm... that his dad the first white man to buy this property, on the Cherokee Strip in Indian Territory... this house was built in 1881 as a one-room school, in town and moved to this location, next to a creek in 1928... that's when his dad bought it...

... the guy, we bought from lived here from '34 to '94 and added the bathroom in 1972 - had an outhouse before that.

''' was a dairyman with a section of land = 640 acres and his barns are now filled with old cars and VWs.

... just interesting, knowing all this.

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5/50, pastel green 11G - SOLD
8/50, gray 11A Beetle
6/52, pastel green 11C - SOLD
11/4/52, black Zwitter - SOLD to my little bro.
1954 Porsche, pre A, with VW 36 horse- SOLD
1/54, black 11C Beetle - TRADED
2/55 Iceland green Beetle, on a 1965 pan
3/55 113 Beetle, stratos silver
1955 Messerschmitt KR175 - SOLD, sadly
1960 single cab
1962 SO33, with SO 42 interior
9/63 Pacific blue, Ghia
'87 Toyota MR2
'02 WestFORDia E-150, GAVE TO OUR SON

All super-heroes, wear a MASK

[hitest]

I see it this way. If you've been in the VW hobby for a while- you eventually see repeats of EVERYTHING. Another set of portawalls and wood slat on a SB, another cal look tribute, another barn found one repaint, blah blah. What differentiates these cars to me are the owners and their stories.

I know a lot about a few members in my club- but I'm not sure I know their cars much at all. Another yellow beetle, okay, but.. "That car was actually stolen and recovered 20 years later?" That's cool- and not likely a repeatable happenstance at a show.

I like knowing the backstory on my cars because plenty of people look at my cars, but far fewer take an interest in them or me. I like to tell the (hi)stories I've learned about my cars. I've tried to learn as much as I can on each.

But, it makes me quite sad that I bought my '63 from the original owner- but his daughter hated the car and told me her (quite elderly) dad would not want to talk to me about it. It's been a sore spot for almost 20 years. Bought new 20 miles from me, spent it's whole life here but I can't learn anything about it. I won't make a dime knowing the history of my cars, but I make it up in appreciation.
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[Zundfolge1432]

I’m interested in a cars history for several reasons such as did a famous or semi famous person own it? How many times has it been bought and sold?
What part of the country ? Has it been wrecked? This is much more difficult to find on cars built before 1981 when VIN went to 17 character identifier. Just general curiosity nothing nefarious just as folks want to slow down to see a guy change a flat tire, it’s just human curiosity. I bought a car once albeit not a classic VW but it started life as a corporate fleet vehicle driven by someone at Ford Motor Company within the executive level and it had every conceivable option. I like purusing Carfax to get an idea of where a newer car has been but even this info is suspect despite their guarantee, I saw firsthand how a dealer can alter or omit information from a report. 🙁.

[mukluk]

Some people just have a fascination with history and provenance, while others don't. It's really no different from other people's passions and hobbies -- there are quite a few I'm certain that are equally puzzled as to why we show interest in cars and working on them, VW or otherwise.

I'd chalk up the perceived invasion of privacy and lack of decorum in regards public display of personal information to differing societal norms.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"