So I have a 04/1980 280zx 2+2 n/a 5 speed. I was checking out the vin online and it doesn't match the car. My vin is HS130223285 and everywhere I have looked says that should be a coupe car. I clearly have a 2+2(I hope). I have a back seat and rear side windows pop open and a coupes trim piece between door and side pop outs won't fit, and my rear speakers are on each side of the seat cushion. So what's the deal? Is this a factory screw up?

 

For your year, the VIN should be H "G" S130 ###### for a 2+2.

So yes, either a factory screw-up or your car has had the VIN badge changed due to any number of reasons, such as somebody couldn't get a title for your shell and so they bought a junk-yard car and swapped VIN plates to get it registered.

Check all three locations to see if they match. Dash, door, and then a hard VIN on the upper firewall in the engine compartment

 

They all match as hs130. A has to be a screw up from factory. Even the serial number is for a two seater. Can a dealer verify it for me or where can I go to figure out what's up with it.

 

Unless you are having problems with the DMV or your insurance company, I don't think I'd worry about it.

So long as the title matches the VIN and you haven't done anything wrong it is just an oddity. There was an issue with mine (82 2+2) and the DMV in my state. They said they screwed up in the designation and sent me a new title. It was titled as 2+2 when I moved here and that's what my first title in this state said. 6 months later I get a letter from the DMV saying that they needed me to send that title back so they could re-issue. When I asked them what the problem was, they said that it was a coupe and the title needed to reflect that. When I told that it was most definitely not a coupe, and they said (not an exact quote here LOL)
"Whatever, it doesn't matter for any reason other than the computer isn't happy, so this will just make it go away and we can both get on with our lives."

Even better I bought the car in another state entirely...

In that one, the car was titled twice. Once as a coupe and once as a 2+2. I still have the coupe title just for the fun of it.

What all of this has told me is that Nissan maybe wasn't the greatest about VIN number quality control. I used to think that it was the DMV's problem because my VIN code is correct for the vehicle and the options. I figured it was just a data entry glitch by some clerk.

Your issue is different than mine. You have a car that came with an inaccurate VIN sequence from the factory, and I have a car with a correct factory VIN that officialdom doesn't believe.

Now I think that Nissan 1) provided bad information to the DMV's and 2) did so because they weren't too sure themselves.

 

Even better, I bought a pretty valuable boat for a song because the owner didn't know what he had. Title said 1967. Some PO must have gotten it titled in that year after either losing the original or never having it.

Boat is a very rare 1959. Original VIN was under some paint. I knew when I first saw it that it wasn't a 67. The shell alone is worth at least twice what I paid for it, trailer, motor and all. I may actually sell it someday but I am enjoying it for now

People often ask me about my Z when I am out playing in it, but someone always wants to talk to me about my boat.

 

So your car have a back seat,Right?

 

Hmm interesting update. So I was looking at the firewall stamp and noticed something seemed off. So I scraped paint down to bare metal and noticed that the old vin had been cut out and this one welded in. So started looking at the rivets on dash and door tags. Not original. Actually the rivets are in for looks. They wiggle haha. So I found one more tag behind the battery. It was covered in paint but you could just make out a stamped number. So I took it off, took some brake cleaner and a rag to it and guess what. I found the original vin underneath. It is a hgs130-102588. Now I'm really curious why someone would go through that much trouble to change the vin but just paint that tag.
Next question the ser numb 102588; it's in the grouping of cars made from 6/78-7/79 so would this car technically be a 78,79, or 80? The ser numbers from 79 are 100000-128573 with the above dates. I'm guessing it is a 79.

 

Sounds like a sloppy job...

In the ORIGINAL "Gone in 60 Seconds" (1974) they purchased wrecked vehicles for pennies on the dollar, steal perfectly good ones, and swap out all vin tags and motor/transmission components so that they now have a perfectly good car registered to them.

I doubt that this is the issue here however xD