California attempts to exert some control through the verification process. If you have assembled a collection of scraps and garbage into a vehicle shaped tetanus outbreak with conflicting vin numbers stamped where you can't see they probably won't issue a salvage title. I've heard of it happening. One was a single salvaged part from a classic Lancia or Alfa that had been incinerated in a garage fire and had a stamped vin on it. The owner then assembled a recreation of the original car from a collection of odd parts he swept up all in an attempt to claim this was the original car or just as good as. Meanwhile someone else had bought the rest of the melted pile and was attempting to build their own version using the stamped number on maybe the iron engine block. Meanwhile the insurance company was losing their mind. because I think they had made a payout to the original owner.This was probably 30 years ago.
