Al and Deb Poller enjoyed driving their 1931 Chevrolet in vintage-car events, but it showed its age. It was time to restore it, so the New Jersey residents searched for a restoration shop. They settled on Okoboji Classic Cars LLC (OCC) in Iowa. In 2013, Mrs. Poller sent an email […]
Picture this. You take your manual-transmission Jeep to the local dealer for an oil change. While you’re reading a car magazine in the waiting room, you hear a commotion. Apparently, a 19-year-old dealer employee who not only did not know how to drive a manual-transmission car, but didn’t even have […]
Just in case you’re one of the few SCMers who haven’t heard about it, RM Sotheby’s set a new world record for the highest automobile sales price ever achieved. On May 5, it auctioned a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe that was part of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Collection, selling it […]
“Legal Files” recently received a call from a distressed longtime friend and client. “Mark” had moved to Arizona and tried to register his 1972 Ferrari Daytona. Mark had owned the car for many years, and presented his clear title issued by his former state. To his surprise, the Arizona DMV […]
Richard Martinez always wanted a Corvette, and he finally found one he liked. The car was a 1959, finished in Roman Red with an Ermine White cove, with a red vinyl interior and a hard top, an older restoration that was wearing well. The car was for sale at Jabaay […]
The Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in “Goldfinger” — modified with weaponry suitable for use by James Bond — is thought by many to be the most famous car in the world. It has also been one of the most amazing automotive mysteries of all time. The Bond […]
“Legal Files” gets interesting letters from all sorts of sources. Here’s one from none other than Publisher Martin: If Bring a Trailer is the Tiffany of online sales, then Facebook Marketplace is the armpit. No vetting, no uniform description, no trolls. I don’t know how these deals find me, but […]
What do you think about this? You’ve been a loyal collector-car policy customer for many years. You’ve insured 27 cars on the policy and never had a single claim. One night, one of your collector cars is stolen. The police recover it four days later, but the thieves have damaged it to the tune of just over $12,000.
No big deal, you’re just happy to have it back almost in one piece. Then, your collector-car insurance company denies the claim. When you object, they take you to court to establish they don’t owe you anything, plus they want you to pay their attorney fees.
Bizarre? Maybe, but believe it or not, that’s just what happened to an SCM subscriber we’ll call “Bob.”
Drifting is perhaps the most exciting new auto-racing variant of the times. Propelled to stardom by the “Fast and Furious” movie series, drift fans can’t get enough of the sideways-sliding, rubber-burning spectacle. The problem has been finding appropriate venues for the sport. The first, and likely best, purpose-built drifting venue […]
As most SCMers know, the collector-car market is way up, we are likely in a transition period for taxes, and we are getting older. All things end. Is it becoming the time to consider how we phase out of car collecting? Let’s consider the various forces that may or may […]
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