John Draneas

A 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Goutte d’Eau Coupé “Teardrop Coupe,” serial number 90108, one of 16 believed to be made, is at the center of a complicated case that recently took a new turn. In June, the purported mastermind of its 2001 theft, Chris Gardner, was extradited from Switzerland. The car had resurfaced in 2015 after…

Longtime client “Pete” called recently with a problem. He was selling his boat, and what he thought was a simple deal had started to go sideways. The situation resembled some scary car deals we’ve seen over the years. Pete had found a buyer who was willing to buy both his boat and boathouse at a…

Al and Deb Poller enjoyed driving their 1931 Chevrolet in vintage-car events, but it showed its age. It was time to restore it, so the New Jersey residents searched for a restoration shop. They settled on Okoboji Classic Cars LLC (OCC) in Iowa. In 2013, Mrs. Poller sent an email with photos of the car,…

Picture this. You take your manual-transmission Jeep to the local dealer for an oil change. While you’re reading a car magazine in the waiting room, you hear a commotion. Apparently, a 19-year-old dealer employee who not only did not know how to drive a manual-transmission car, but didn’t even have a driver’s license, tried to…

Just in case you’re one of the few SCMers who haven’t heard about it, RM Sotheby’s set a new world record for the highest automobile sales price ever achieved. On May 5, it auctioned a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe that was part of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Collection, selling it for €135,000,000 ($142,668,000). This sale…

“Legal Files” recently received a call from a distressed longtime friend and client. “Mark” had moved to Arizona and tried to register his 1972 Ferrari Daytona. Mark had owned the car for many years, and presented his clear title issued by his former state. To his surprise, the Arizona DMV clerk would not register the…

Richard Martinez always wanted a Corvette, and he finally found one he liked. The car was a 1959, finished in Roman Red with an Ermine White cove, with a red vinyl interior and a hard top, an older restoration that was wearing well. The car was for sale at Jabaay Motors in Indiana, where Martinez…

The Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in “Goldfinger” — modified with weaponry suitable for use by James Bond — is thought by many to be the most famous car in the world. It has also been one of the most amazing automotive mysteries of all time. The Bond DB5 was last owned by…

“Legal Files” gets interesting letters from all sorts of sources. Here’s one from none other than Publisher Martin: If Bring a Trailer is the Tiffany of online sales, then Facebook Marketplace is the armpit. No vetting, no uniform description, no trolls. I don’t know how these deals find me, but on a Friday night, a…

What do you think about this? You’ve been a loyal collector-car policy customer for many years. You’ve insured 27 cars on the policy and never had a single claim. One night, one of your collector cars is stolen. The police recover it four days later, but the thieves have damaged it to the tune of…