I have seen it all when it comes to claims owners make on their classic car. Sometimes they are erroneous claims that could be considered honest mistakes. Other times, a more nefarious plot is underway. As a prospective buyer it really pays to do the due diligence and verify each claim a seller makes about their car. Here are some of the claims I have heard over the years… along with the reality behind each claim.

CLAIM: “The car is completely original.”

REALITY: They didn’t know it had had a colour change, electronic ignition, later wheels from the same model etc. Their father’s mechanic always changed the components to modern ones when he serviced the car. Luckily their father kept all the original components in boxes in the garage. Even the original rear axle. This made a huge difference when it came to selling it.

CLAIM: “One owner since new”

REALITY: Their father never mentioned he bought it when it was 1yr old, it had always felt like new to the kids.

CLAIM: “The mileage is original”

REALITY: Their father never mentioned the broken speedometer cable that went unfixed for a couple of years, twenty years ago.

CLAIM: “Original paint”

REALITY: Many people can’t see that their car may have more than one colour paint or don’t notice the overspray on the lock mechanisms.

CLAIM: “Never winter driven”

REALITY: Their father drove the car to work all year round for the first three years before it was stored every winter.

CLAIM: “1956 Thunderbird with only 2500 miles on it”

REALITY: The car was originally raced by a Ford dealer in Florida. It was then disassembled and put in boxes. Later it was restored to better than new, the owner at this point had the mileage set to 1956, the year he got his license. Original mileage unknown!

As you can see, there are different ways that a classic car can turn out to have a story that is quite different than what is originally reported. Take your time to find out the verifiable facts when purchasing – or hire a professional to conduct a professional pre-purchase inspection. It can save you a fortune.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

When buying a classic car, either modern or old, a pre-purchase inspection is an excellent foundation for long term enjoyment. Knowing what the vehicle needs today to operate safely and enjoyably, and knowing what it is going to need in the immediate future, helps you make a decision on whether to buy the car, and also what kind of offer is realistic. A pre-purchase inspection is an excellent tool with which to negotiate the purchase.

It’s not unusual that the seller does not know the current condition of the car and what it will cost to recondition it to safe and normal operating condition. This is especially true for vehicles that are being sold by an estate where it may have been sitting for several years. When the person selling the vehicle is a spouse or an inheritor, they often have no knowledge of the true condition of the vehicle and its value. It’s a common situation where the long time owner of the vehicle often tells his spouse and family members what great condition the car is in and how valuable it is, but, in the true light of day, after they have died or become infirm, the market does not support the owner’s opinion. A pre-purchase inspection along with research of the current market will help in educating both parties to the transaction.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

I read the latest news and a company in the U.K. (Swindon Powertrains) is going to be selling a Crate electric engine starting at the end of next year. They are going to be building an electric motor and transmission that you will be able to install in a wide range of Classic vehicles, even in a Mini. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drove away from their wedding reception in a Jaguar E-Type with an electric powertrain.

The whole originality concept is being stretched over a very wide range. Is a concours quality Jaguar E-Type with an electric powertrain original, custom, or modified? Will the selling prices for these vehicles match the original or be possibly higher? Is there going to be a special category now at concours events for electric powered Classic vehicles? If I certify that my Classic can be reverted to original by swapping out the new powertrain, is the car still original? Would you convert your Classic?

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

I see many restored vehicles. The ones that are done by the owner or the owner’s mechanic nearly always have poor quality trim work. The seat covers don’t fit properly, and the rebuilding of the internals is so poor as to not supply proper support.

Many owners of classic vehicles see no purpose in paying for quality workmanship when installing interior trim. This is extraordinary in that the area of the car that you see the most is where you sit.

I remember many years ago when I went to see a Corvette which the owner had paid a mechanic to restore, it had brand new seat covers installed but the internals of the seat were left with fill material as old as the car. The mechanic had been the only person to sit in the seat and the seat was only a couple of weeks old but the leather was already distorted. When I mentioned this to the mechanic, he told me that the owner of the car was fat and that it would make no difference. When I pointed this out to the owner, he was not amused.

When I was in the Rolls-Royce restoration business, I was lucky enough to have a European craftsman in trim work close to my shop. His interiors were built to last 30 years, and look good for the entire period. Fat or thin made no difference.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

A number of people call our classic car appraisal service looking for help with an insurance dispute over the value of the vehicle that they have been offered by their insurance company. They start out by explaining how little the insurance company has offered. As I dig deeper with more questions, I discover that the vehicle they have has a rebuilt, branded ownership. In this situation, the insurance company normally reduces the average market value of the vehicle by 40%. 

This comes as a big shock because people grossly underestimate the value penalty for a branded ownership vehicle. The branded vehicle that they buy may look like new, and the salesperson may be very reassuring as to the quality of the vehicle, but of course they never mention its true value due to its branded status. It’s very common that the owner does not know who assembled the vehicle after it was written off, this can be important in assuring the integrity of the rebuild. 

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

An enthusiast buys a special interest car to restore and put on the road. They pay $15,000.00 for the car and flatbed it to their mechanic.

They call their regular insurance company and obtain a policy for it, and when asked how much they paid for it, the owner says $15,000.00. The owner doesn’t think a thing about it until a total loss occurs.

They had $12,500.00 put into it before it went on the road (for a total investment of $27,500.00). Then, a total loss was caused when the car was parked in their driveway. The insurance company had put a “19 endorsement” on the policy which limits them from paying any more than the $15,000.00. Due to this limit, the car is a write-off.

The lesson in this story is that you have to read the fine print at least on the page where it lists your vehicles and their respective coverage.

A “19 endorsement” limits the amount covered, a “19A endorsement” covers an Agreed Amount for a specific period of time, usually five years.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

It started with a Rolls-Royce Corniche, I was demonstrating to the owner how to use lambswool over carpets and I did not notice their little terrier on the front passenger seat. Next thing I know, there’s a dog hanging off one of my fingers and me dancing around the front garden after it let go. The owner of the car and the dog said very little. The next day, he phoned me to apologize for his wife’s lack of compassion explaining that they had previously lived in Texas, and they were certain that I would immediately hire a lawyer to sue them like everybody in Dallas does.

A second Rolls-Royce dog was a rescue dog, I was getting on fine patting the animal while sitting in the living room taking a small libation when suddenly my left hand was on its way down the dog’s throat. Blood was coming from a wound on my hand, I dash to the sink to wash it, I’m telling the couple that own the dog about my experience, they tell me about the other people he has bitten with not a care in the world. Now to be fair to Rolls-Royce owners, I had a big black poodle (owned by a BMW 3.0 owner) have a go at my knee cap, my trousers saved me from damage.

My most recent experience was with a custom motorbike owner’s dog who inflicted enough damage for me to go to a walk-in clinic. That experience left me “dog shy” for a while.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

I was just going through my service records for my daily driver and my summer toy. I’m also involved in selling several classic vehicles at the moment that have undergone extensive restoration but no one kept records. One vehicle is a one owner unit, but the owner never told his family where the records were kept. Luckily, the two most recent service facilities he used are still in business and were able to print out the work orders. The original selling dealer threw all their records out 6 years ago when they moved location and started with a whole new software regime. When selling a special classic car at a normal price, prospective buyers know that they are buying the care and attention lavished on it by the previous owner(s). If no records are available, it’s natural that they will question the quality of the vehicle.

When going through the records for a car, look for long periods of inactivity. Inactive cars are like inactive people, they don’t fair well. Throw every bill and work order in a file folder, there’s a good chance they will be valuable one day.

Keep them in a safe place, not in the glove box!

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

Telling your insurance company the true nature of your collector classic by employing an appraisal is a very good precaution for when things go wrong. The craziest things happen to cars. They go up in flames, they get damaged by floods.

I had a client who had a highly modified modern classic car. His insurance agent had not requested an appraisal and the car had no specific value on the policy. The owner of the car had spent $125,000 total on the vehicle. There was a midsummer storm which caused widespread flooding and, in his case, his garage was situated under the house and the car ended up in 2 feet of water. The insurance adjuster explained that the insurance company would make no effort to restore the vehicle because the wiring system and engine management computer had been underwater. The car itself appeared “as new”.

The insurance company appraiser came along and explained that you could spend a fortune on one of these cars and still not make it any more valuable than the base unit. My research indicated that there were cars in the U.S. that were restored and modified in a similar manner that were selling for twice the amount that the insurance company was offering.

The end result was that the insurance company paid the client the amount I had indicated and he kept the car salvage for free. He was able to sell the salvage to the vehicle’s restorers, which allowed him to recoup all the money that he had invested in the vehicle.

Another precautionary tale involved a gentleman who went to New Jersey to buy a brand new Japanese car that had been flooded on the dock after it had been unloaded from the shipping vessel. When he got it back home, he discovered that purchasing the computer modules was going to cost him more than the vehicle was worth, and because the car was so new, there were no used modules in any wrecking yards. He was paranoid because he had never explained the situation to his wife, yet.

The moral of this tale is that a simple car appraisal is a very powerful tool in case the unexpected happens. A small investment now can protect you from huge losses. Contact us for a professional appraisal you can count on.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

I often get to meet the widow who has been left the cars. Some widows have a hard time letting go of their deceased husbands cars and they need help with the process of moving them to a new home. Some cars stay in their garage so long we have to drag them out with a tow truck. I wonder if it would help the widow if the husband left a will for the disbursement of the cars?

I once had a client who sold his car to a dealer friend because he didn’t want his two sons fighting over it. Guess what? When the children saw the car for sale, they came in and bought it to share it.

Sometimes I’m the one explaining that the treasured classic that the husband has boasted about for years, is not the pristine wonder that they have been led to believe. I just had a client who asked me for my assurance that when he went, his daughter could call me and get help to sell it. He was unusual in that he wants it to receive a full paint restoration so he can enjoy it even more in the time left. Many people I meet mention that they want to leave their car to their sons but it’s said at such an age that they have no idea if their son will want it.

Of course the one that takes the cake is the lady who complained to me that the City of Brampton wouldn’t allow her husband to be buried in his Corvette. I guess you have to know if your wishes are realistic!

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.