Does anyone check VINs anymore, (or have industry professionals chucked the term "VIN" for the more automobile-specific "serial number") ? This soap opera actually inspired me to rise from my chair, get a flashlight, and look for the VIN on my own B4. Within 2 minutes, I found a sticker on the B pillar, a metal tag riveted to the dash (the hardest one to find -- i had to wipe fog off the windshield), and after popping the hood, found a 3rd one visible through a clear plastic window near the ECU. No tools were required to perform this check. And bytheway, I did the same search when I bought the car, even though "several thousand dollars" were not at stake, and I had no reason to doubt the seller's honesty or niceness.
I can't keep track of how many dealers and auctioneers passed this hot potato around, with none of them catching the VIN mismatch. But anyone who thinks "the police" are going to open an investigation and burn one powdered donut hole's calories to catch the criminal mastermind behind this scam, is smoking something recently decriminalized in his State.
I was also surprised to see this story played out this far, as I thought Peter had earlier posted his decision to -not- travel to Bellingham, or even try to find a B4.