Watch out "Sellers" - It's not just "Buyer Beware" anymore

[Cor66Vette]

I'm okay with creating tribute vehicles, cloning or re-creating them, or whatever you want to call the finished product, so long as you don't try to pass it off as the real deal. Here's my note to sellers of those vehicles: You always took a chance of being charged criminally, but now you need to be concerned about a civil lawsuit for damages, as was the case recently in Australia.

A 1969 Falcon XW GT (similar to the one pictured above), being represented as an all-matching numbers car, with some engine work done to it, was offered for sale for $143K. A potential buyer did his due diligence, checked the VIN, and found it to be correct. He and a professional body man checked for rust and other damage, and found none. He negotiated a purchase price of $90K (that alone should have been a clue).
A couple years later, the car was again offered for sale, only to learn that it was NOT a true GT, but rather a standard XW. An X-ray examination of the firewall showed that the area around the VIN tag had been cut and welded back together. GT's are currently worth about $70K, and the standard is worth between $10-15K. The owner demanded the seller take it back, and refund his money. The seller refused, so the owner filed a civil suit for breach of contract, asking for the difference in value between what he paid for the car and its current value, along with his expenses in traveling to see the car (twice), and court costs. The total was $108K.

The judge ruled that although it was unlikely the seller knew the car was cloned, it was still the seller's responsibility to be certain that it wasn't.
The bottom line: The judge ordered the seller to buy back the Falcon for $108K. And in doing so, he's now stuck with his clone that's worth at most $15K!

From now on, it's let the buyer AND the seller beware! And in defense of the many who have been ripped off buying cloned vehicles, it's about time!

[mickeystoysz16]

This is happening with first gen Camaros 67-69 especially the z/28's. The majority of camaros on ebay are not legit unless the seller discloses that it is a clone. I have read where even Rick Hendrick bought a 69 Z/28 at auction only later to find out is was a fake.

[navy2kcoupe]

Originally Posted by RedRestoredRoadster

I'm okay with creating tribute vehicles, cloning or re-creating them, or whatever you want to call the finished product, so long as you don't try to pass it off as the real deal. Here's my note to sellers of those vehicles: You always took a chance of being charged criminally, but now you need to be concerned about a civil lawsuit for damages, as was the case recently in Australia.

A 1969 Falcon XW GT (similar to the one pictured above), being represented as an all-matching numbers car, with some engine work done to it, was offered for sale for $143K. A potential buyer did his due diligence, checked the VIN, and found it to be correct. He and a professional body man checked for rust and other damage, and found none. He negotiated a purchase price of $90K (that alone should have been a clue).
A couple years later, the car was again offered for sale, only to learn that it was NOT a true GT, but rather a standard XW. An X-ray examination of the firewall showed that the area around the VIN tag had been cut and welded back together. GT's are currently worth about $70K, and the standard is worth between $10-15K. The owner demanded the seller take it back, and refund his money. The seller refused, so the owner filed a civil suit for breach of contract, asking for the difference in value between what he paid for the car and its current value, along with his expenses in traveling to see the car (twice), and court costs. The total was $108K.

The judge ruled that although it was unlikely the seller knew the car was cloned, it was still the seller's responsibility to be certain that it wasn't.
The bottom line: The judge ordered the seller to buy back the Falcon for $108K. And in doing so, he's now stuck with his clone that's worth at most $15K!

From now on, it's let the buyer AND the seller beware! And in defense of the many who have been ripped off buying cloned vehicles, it's about time!

AND.......since there is now documented evidence that the VIN was "messed with",
what will THAT do the transfer of title, the ability to register the car, and the ability
to get the car inspected in a state where that's required? Opens up multiple cans
of worms in my opinion.
Andy