Guam (GU) is a US island which covers an area of 541.3 square kilometers. The population is 160 thousand people. Guam is officially listed as an “organized unincorporated US territory”, which means that the island has an independent government, but its “nationals” are citizens of the USA.
It’s important to note that the US Constitution has only a partial power in territories like Guam. Some constitutional necessities are applied, but not all.
GU has one delegate in the US House of Representatives, but this delegate does not have the right to vote.
It’s interesting to know that Guam made the registration of motor vehicles and displaying their license plates obligatory more than 100 years ago — in 1916.
According to the 2009 rules, the letters on a Guam license plate number indicate the village where the car was produced. This option eases the process of VIN check dramatically: you should only check a couple of digits to discover where the roots of the precise car are hidden.
All cars are shipped to Guam mostly by planes and ships, and many documents are required for leaving them on the island. All in all, it's not so easy to be a car fraudster here.
Guam is a tourist zone, and the public here is extremely diverse, and so are the cars. Smart Car, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini, — there’s hardly any car brand you can’t find on this island. But remember one vital issue when buying a car here: if you’re unlucky to purchase a vehicle during the last 3 months of its shipping, you’ll have to pay a 4% tax for it. Besides, a safety inspection is required before registering your car in Guam.
As you see, Guam has a specific status. For that reason, doing a GU license plate lookup as well as buying or selling a car here is not the same as on other US territories. On most of the US online VIN check services, there are no data about cars, situated on unincorporated territories. But if to search very thoroughly, it’s possible to come across at least one site which provides information about Guam cars.
Guam Reverse License Plate Information
If you’re going to buy a car in Guam, you should be careful even despite the strict rules. Being cautious will double your chance to buy a used car of excellent quality.
In general, online Guam license plate search service does not differ from such services in other states. The information you will get after deciphering a VIN number of your destination car is called a “VIN history report” that will include:
- The number of this vehicle’s owners.
- The information about possible liens placed on the car.
- Accurate odometer readings. Mind that many owners tend to do odometer rollbacks for you to think that this car is newer.
- The information whether this car is a lemon.
- Accident history.
- Recall history.
- Fire or wind damage history.
- The information whether the car was reported stolen.
A thorough VIN check is the best way to avoid VIN fraud, which is too widespread nowadays. Here are some additional options:
- If a cell phone number is the only information about a car dealer you can find, — look for other dealers, and this may be a fraud.
- Get VIN reports about as many cars that match your needs, as you can find. The more cars you check, the more likely you are to choose the optimal one.
- Don’t omit title search: it can also be helpful.
- Even if you find a miraculously good used car — hire a mechanic to check it for some hidden bugs.
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