The transporter demanded payment, but when Ric produced his receipt from the broker marked “Paid in Full,” he drove off in a huff

Sometimes it seems like our old cars spend more time being transported by others than transporting themselves. At first glance, it might seem that having your car buttoned up on a hauler or in a container would be simple and safe. But as you will read below, for both Read More

State laws commonly give powerful protection to mechanics who work on cars and garage keepers who store them, recognizing that they often need special powers to help them get paid.
Typically, these laws entitle them to retain possession of the car until they have been paid in full. If not paid after a specified minimum time, they are then free to sell the car to the highest bidder, and the purchaser gets good title to the car. The sale Read More

Various countries take different approaches. Some protect the innocent
owner whose property was stolen. Others protect the innocent purchaser

Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, the Connecticut State Police obtained a warrant to search the garage of a Sharon, Connecticut, collector. Inside, they found a 1958 Ferrari 250 PF Cabriolet, s/n 0799GT, which had been reported stolen in Spain some 15 years previously. The Ferrari had been smuggled into Read More

No need to get a second inspection, as the dealer had suggested; the first inspector was a pro and had already found 60-plus defects

The unhappy buyer of a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing recently contacted “Legal Files” with an unfortunate story. A couple years ago, he was having a tough time finding an acceptable Gullwing. He consulted a knowledgeable local dealer, who told him about a Gullwing in another city and introduced him Read More

Armed with a camera, they decided they could earn eternal YouTube fame by videotaping “Gibby” urinating on the Ferrari

It was a nice day in Ontario, Canada, so a Ferrari owner decided to take a top-down drive in his 360 Spyder. During his motoring, he decided to make a stop to run an errand at a shopping mall. He found a safe parking place and left the top down while Read More

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