It’s the end of a great year for the collector car market. As it winds down, readers should take the opportunity to focus on a number of planning details. Tax rates likely to stay the same Year-end tax planning doesn’t look terribly complicated this year. Election season is in full […]
Legal Files
So You Want to Import a Car …
As exchange rates fluctuate, collector cars cross the oceans in the direction of the arbitrage. Add in some recent changes in U.S. import rules, and there is now quite a bit of interest in importing collector cars into the U.S. Is that a feasible option for the collector? U.S. law […]
Waking From a Litigation Nightmare
Last month, “Legal Files” gave a behind-the-scenes report on the settlement of the Cunningham Corvette case, explaining how hard it is to really be a winner in litigation and why settlements almost always make sense (September 2015, p. 70). This month, it’s the other side of the story — an […]
Judge Prompts Settlement in Cunningham Corvette Case
The long legal battle over ownership of the #1 Briggs Cunningham 1960 Le Mans Corvette is over. When we last wrote about this fascinating case (January 2014, p. 42), the parties were about to argue a motion to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, which was not granted. A few weeks […]
Lancia Case Pits Son Against Father in Court
We’ve read about many court cases involving collector cars, but here is a new one — a father and son in a bitter court battle over the ownership of a four-car Lancia Stratos collection. The cars are a 1971 HF, a 1975 HF Silhouette Turbo, a 1975 Stradale street car […]
Selling Cars Without Worry
Last month, “Legal Files” focused on ways that a buyer can protect himself in a collector car purchase transaction. This month, we are focusing on how the seller can protect his interests. In today’s hot collector car market, the seller’s main problem is not getting the car sold, but […]
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The collector car market has been very strong the past few years, and many cars are trading at prices that were unheard of not long ago. An unfortunate consequence of today’s market is that mistakes can cost a lot more than they did before. There also is a perception […]
Check Your Collector Car Insurance Today
Collector car insurance policies are the coverage of choice for car collectors. The premiums are very low, and you get better service and claims treatment. But while collector car insurance policies, as a class, are almost always superior to your basic consumer auto insurance policy, they are not all created […]
Do Your Homework Before Bidding
A recent Federal District Court decision in Illinois should be of serious concern to auction bidders. If it stands, we might all have to take a full coterie of mechanics and consultants with us to each auction. Our plaintiff, “Ted,” was a successful bidder at a 2011 auction. (“Legal […]
The Public Execution of a Mini Cooper
We all know that it’s going to be windy when a low-pressure area bumps up against a high-pressure area. The difference in air pressure sucks air into the low-pressure area until the pressures are equalized. “Legal Files” recently reported (June 2014, p. 54) how this same principle applies to economic […]