As neat as these activities might seem, the end result can be sub-optimal and disappointing. It seems that few, if any, of the later owners had the same "good orientations" as the earlier owner did. Which leads to finding wrecked or badly-neglected vehicles. Bummer.
Only real way to track prior owners is from their "last prior registration" records. You send registered letters to the person/address and go from there. Same if the prior owner did not properly release the title, years earlier. Can get tricky and time consuming! But with the several "location" websites where you can do your own online searches (for a small monthly fee), YOU can be "the investigator". Still, these services rely upon public records, so there can be some errors, by observation.
Getting a list of the prior owners (and addresses) can be helpful in determining the vehicle's prior location history AND where it was originally sold. There can be some interesting stories in THAT information. As things have progressed, many states only keep records back "so many years", so there might be an "early ending" to the information.
Good luck, but be prepared for the worst.
CBODY67
