In the spirit of the 20th anniversary of SCM, “Legal Files” has compiled a list of the top 20 traps that sellers and buyers of collector cars can fall into. I’ll split the list in half, with ten each for sellers and buyers.

The Sellers’ Top 10

When you’re the seller, your two primary legal concerns are to get all your money and to not to get sued later. Most of the Sellers’ Top 10 fits into one of those Read More

Hogan signed his son Nick’s driver’s license application, and will likely be held liable for injuries attributable to Nick’s negligence

Hulk Hogan and his family are currently defending a multi-million-dollar lawsuit that arose from his son Nick’s crash of his modified Toyota Supra. The crash left his passenger and friend, John Graziano, hospitalized with major brain damage that will leave him in need of constant medical care for the remainder Read More

As he figures out the GT350 is rebodied, the shop owner is overheard by a CHP officer, who begins an inquiry

What do you do with your authentic, vintage Shelby GT350 when it’s so rusty it’s beyond repair? Some Shelby owners think the answer is pretty simple-just rebody it. But that can easily lead to confusion, fraud, criminal charges, and costly litigation, as we’ll see below. Although this is an Read More

If you’ve been tracking the legal analysis, you probably think the buyer is
going to get the BMW. Sorry, you’re mistaken about that

BMW’s new M3 sport sedan offers very impressive performance in an appealing package. At an MSRP of approximately $70,000, they fly out of dealers’ showrooms, and there have been reports of dealers selling them at $30,000 over MSRP. So a BMW dealer apparently tried to cut Read More

Just inside the statute of limitations, James was served with a lawsuit
claiming fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty

Here’s another true story. We’ve given the subjects fake names, but the story is otherwise accurate. Let’s call our dealer this month James. He had been doing quite well selling collector cars in the Northeast. Over 600 cars sold and, he says, “I had never even received a letter from an attorney.” Read More

California extradited the Titles Unlimited president from Alabama. He was convicted and spent a year in jail

Say you hit the proverbial collector car lottery and find a 1957 Porsche Speedster that has been sitting in a barn for 40 years. The only problem is that the farmer lost the title 38 years ago. Like most states, your DMV purged its records after the car went unregistered for five years, and it Read More

The owner’s friend wrecked his car, but the owner’s policy pays the claim, his premiums go up, and possibly his policy gets cancelled

Ever borrow a friend’s valuable car and worry that something bad might happen? Here’s a case where it did.

As usual after the completion of the competitive runs at a recent SCCA Solo autocross event held in the paddock at Portland International Raceway, the course was Read More

The ink wasn’t even dry when the email inboxes, telephone lines, mailbox, and other forms of communication got red hot

The “Legal Files” column in the December 2007 issue of SCM, which discussed the $4.5m settlement of the Carrera GT fatal crash lawsuit, hit a nerve within the SCM community. The ink wasn’t even dry when the email inboxes, telephone and fax lines, and other forms of communication were humming. Most comments Read More

An expert examined the Jaguar and concluded much work was substandard, and the owner had been overcharged by at least $17,000

An SCM subscriber, whom we’ll call Bill, has been a car guy for a long time and has owned a Ferrari Daytona, a 289 Cobra, and a 1960 Jaguar XK 150. After he had owned the 3.8-liter drophead coupe for about 20 years, he decided it needed a restoration. He was Read More

The attorney points out that the typical SCM subscriber, a car enthusiast who holds fast cars and racetracks dear, will never make it onto this jury

Last summer, “Legal Files” reported about a lawsuit resulting from the fatal crash of a Porsche Carrera GT at a club track day at the California Speedway (June 2006, p. 30). The lawsuit was recently settled for a reported total of approximately $4.5 million. Read More