So a simple reading of post # 9 above shows that if you intend "to further the theft of a motor vehicle" you are breaking the law and if caught you will be fined or imprisoned under this law, but "if that person [who wants to remove, obliterate, tamper with or alter the decal or device] is the owner of the motor vehicle" he can legally do it.
Obviously the intent of the law is to prevent any theft of an automobile but not prevent a law abiding citizen who legally owns a motor vehicle from restoring his damaged automobile, if "the removal, obliteration, tampering, or alteration is reasonably necessary for the repair."
For example a car is T boned at the area of the left cowl crushing the left windshield pillar, upper left cowl, left front fender and the dash board which contains the VIN number. The above law implies that he can legally remove the VIN plate and install it on the new dash pad because he legally owns the vehicle, is not stealing it, and he needs to do it to repair the vehicle. He can also transfer this authority to "his authorized agent." An authorized agent could be an automobile body shop or automotive restoration facility.
Scenerio # 1. You have a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 426 hemi engine that is a total rust bucket, but after referring to an AMD catalog you feel the car can be repaired if you use their 25 aftermarket body panels that were stamped in China and also a used cowl from the wrecking yard. Is this a 1969 Dodge Charger manufactured by Chrysler Corporation or a hand built 1969 Dodge Charger built by a body shop that still has four original body panels that came from Detroit, one of which is not even original to that particular car but it is a Chrysler built part.
Scenerio # 2 Same car as above but you want to restore it with "real" 1969 Chrysler Corporation steel so you find a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 318 V8 that is in pristine condition. You buy it and you swap the engine, transmission, differential, fender tag, VIN tag, from the hemi powered car, into the 318 car. You stamp the radiator support and the left rain gutter with the correct numbers from the hemi powered car to complete the transformation of the 318 car. You then buy the two reinforcement panels from AMD that are needed to box in the rear spring areas and you have the car stripped of its paint, the dents are fixed and the car is painted with the color stamped on the fender tag. Is this a real 1969 Dodge Charger?
Are both cars fakes? Is one real and the other a fake? Which one?
Benji
