Buying/Selling Firewall Tags......

[hep1966]

That's a big stretch. If that were so, then anyone selling any vintage part, block, heads, wheels, dash, ANYTHING, could be sued. It just doesn't happen.

[njsteve]

Actually it's not quite the stretch you might want to believe when it involves the area of data plates, VIN tags and the like (I'm not talking about basic car parts). A drowning rat will try to climb onto anything above water. If some unknowledgable "collector" finds out that he has been ripped off, he will call his lawyer and the lawyer (as lawyers do) will add everyone he can to the lawsuit in order to find the deepest pockets he can. Like I said, the "honest" seller of the tag may eventually be dropped out of the lawsuit but not until he's spent a bunch of money on lawyer fees to have his lawyer get him out.

The higher the value of the car, the more likely you will get involved in a lawsuit. If someone is illicitly cloning a base SS it's a little different than if he's cloning a ZL1 and trying to pass it off as a real car. The higher the value, the higher the likelihood of a legal feeding frenzy (no offense to sharks out there).

[kenham]

Steve, I'm not a lawyer, but have been a detective in a big city and a PI for about 40 years total. If the guy who sells the car with the trim tag that he knows didn't belong to the car, (and it can be proven) and he represents it to be what the trim tag indicates, that's criminal fraud as well as civil fraud. I know of a 69 Camaro six cylinder that ended up as a 396 SS. The seller is the one who misrepresented the car and was sued in civil court. I really don't understand why it is legal for these people to make and sell trim tags. I know GM has taken action to stop companies who make decals, and other identifiable GM parts without being licensed to do so. And trim tags are most likely being bought for less that honest reasons. Just my opinion. Ken

[Jonesy]

If a 6 cylinder ended up as an SS396, then the VIN must have been swapped out and that's why that may have ended up in court. The VIN shows 6 or 8 cyl.

[kenham]

Jonesy, I imagine you're right about the vin being changed also, either that or the buyer was not Knowledgeable. Ken

[njsteve]

KENHAM, You're quite right. It also qualifies for Federal Criminal prosecution if it involves VIN fraud. Especially if it is a high dollar car and would make for a good example to show the public. The seller can also be sued in Federal Civil court for money damages if the buyer is in one state and the seller is in another.

[kenham]

Steve, wouldn't GM have some responsibility if it was brought to their attention that the trim tags were being used to defraud buyers and they didn't take action to stop their production, or license their procuction?

[njsteve]

[ QUOTE ]
Steve, wouldn't GM have some responsibility if it was brought to their attention that the trim tags were being used to defraud buyers and they didn't take action to stop their production, or license their procuction?

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely not. GM is not responsible for the illegal actions of another. Should GM be sued by every homeowner every time a drunk driver plows his Suburban into the homeowner's tree?

[Verne_Frantz]

hep,
I also must reply to this, as the subject is very close to me through my endeavors to help people prove their car is legit.

It is NOT a stretch. I agree with nj steve. The trim tag was never meant to be a "replacable part" on the car. It is the car's birth certificate. Darren also had another good analogy.

Let's say you were born with a short embarrsssing name, so you legally changed your name to Richard Wadsworth. Unfortunately, you can not change your original birth certificate, so you're still Dick Wad.
(no personal offense meant)

The trim tag is not the last "part" to go on the car, to match the rest of the restoration. The restoration should match the trim tag. The reason why some tags are selling for lots of money is because if they are on the car, it "indicates" the car is legit as it appears, and therefore has a much higher value. That increased value is false, therefore fraud has been committed.
Sorry for sounding like a laywer, Steve.

Verne

[Stuart Adams]

Not that my opinion matters much, but here goes - I don't like the idea, something inside me sais it's wrong and not cool. The person must need money real bad to be selling these things.