nycebo

I just joined PCA after reading a post that reminded me to do so.

Quick question, though: did anyone feel a little nervous about putting the Serial # of their car on the web site? Felt like a very invasive doctor's appointment.

LVDell

Nope, not at all. Are you referring to your VIN?

yetis

No. You will notice that when you register, the site goes to httpS, and a little lock appears at the bottom of your browser. The S tells you that your are on a secure site. Now, as for what PCA does with it once they get it, I cannot tell you. But if your worried about who might intercept it while transmitting, just PCA.

LVDell

If it is VIN then it allows them to verify EXACTLY what model car you have.

nycebo

yeah, the VIN. I did it. And it seems reasonable that they would want to see it. Just felt weird. Kind of like going to the doctor's office for a hernia check. Ok, a little TMI there.

LVDell

TMI is right. Now I have that visual in my head!!!

Lugnutty

I never really understood why things like this bother people. Why wouldn't you want to share your VIN with someone? Anyone walking through a parking lot can get the VIN of your car. I never really understood why people blur them out of their photos.
Just like the blurred out license plates on the same pictures. Again, anyone driving near you could get your license plate number.
Do people really do mischevious things with VINs and license plate numbers that they grab from pictures on the internet?
Besides, if you are really that nervous, go on to eBay's site and grab the VIN off of a listing for a similar car. Easy as a lion.

Res Ips

[QUOTE=Jon968]I never really understood why things like this bother people. Why wouldn't you want to share your VIN with someone? Anyone walking through a parking lot can get the VIN of your car. I never really understood why people blur them out of their photos.

You make a good point. I think we are overly concerned about some things and under concerned with others. In the grand design of things probably very little damage can be done with someone knowing your VIN number. Your Social Security number on the other hand if boosted can cause a lot of problems.

Besides, I guess I am starting to see that this whole concept of "privacy" sure as heck ain't what it used to be. I frequently use a law data bases. You should see the stuff I can pull up and from there its a short step into other linked data bases, to others and others right down the line. Its like your life has become one great big Safeway Card.

nycebo

Jon968, lots of good points. Makes me feel kind of silly now.

Marc Shaw

Umm.. yeah, they do. A friend of mine was interested to know that his car was for sale a little while back on eBay - by somebody else. Someone had lifted the pictures he had posted to an Audi site, used the license # to get the VIN and posted it for sale. With a VIN that is right for the car, a CarFax report would all be correct.

Try going for a prostate check.

Marc

mitch236

The reason I would blurr the license plate in any pic of my car is that most pics I have are on track and I don't want the dealer to know that I track my car (it's still under warrantee). And if you don't think that dealers are reading this website, I can assure you they do and can use your posts and pictures legally (even if you remove them from the server) to deny warrantee claims. As me how I know.........