Legal Files

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…

Armed with a camera, they decided they could earn eternal YouTube fame by videotaping “Gibby” urinating on the Ferrari {vsig}2008-10_2238{/vsig} 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…

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…

Hogan signed his son Nick’s driver’s license application, and will likely be held liable for injuries attributable to Nick’s negligence {vsig}2008-8_2213{/vsig} 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…

As he figures out the GT350 is rebodied, the shop owner is overheard by a CHP officer, who begins an inquiry {vsig}2008-7_2200{/vsig} 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…

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 {vsig}2008-6_2188{/vsig} 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…

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…

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…

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 {vsig}2008-3_2149{/vsig} 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…

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…