When “As Is” Isn’t Enough

Just inside the statute of limitations, James was served with a lawsuit claiming fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty

by John Draneas

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.” But his luck changed recently.

James acquired a real 1968 Camaro Z/28 some time ago. It was freshly painted the correct J-code Rally Green, with a vinyl top and black interior, power steering, power disc brakes, and in-dash tachometer. It had a matching-numbers engine, the rear end was the correct 3.73 ratio, and the transmission was correct, but not original to the car. The only negative was that it came in pieces. Jerry completed the restoration and sold it to a local customer. It changed hands a couple of times over the years, but was still in excellent...