The High Court has recently given judgment in the case of Brewer v Stanley Mann, Fortis Lease UK Limited and Stanley Mann Racing Limited which stresses the importance of accuracy when giving descriptions of classic cars for sale and which no dealer in collector cars can afford to ignore.

The Facts

In June 2007 Stanley Mann sold a car which he described as being a "1930 Bentley Speed Six" to Mrs Brewer for £425,000. Mrs Brewer and her husband, a vintage and historic Bentley enthusiast, had seen an advert for the car in a magazine and subsequently visited Mr Mann's premises to inspect the car and speak to Mr Mann before buying. However, about a year after buying the car, Mrs Brewer discovered that the engine in the car was not an original Speed Six engine, but was in fact a replacement engine which had been reconstructed to Speed Six specification. Mrs Brewer issued Court proceedings.

The Court's Decision

There was extensive argument at Court and conflicting evidence about what had been said to Mrs Brewer and her husband when they had inspected the car. Mrs Brewer was adamant that she had been told by Mr Mann that the engine was a Speed Six engine and her evidence was accepted by the Court. The Court also considered that as the representation about the engine was crucial in Mrs Brewer's decision to buy the car, a warranty should be implied into the purchase contract that the car she was buying had a genuine Speed Six engine.

Under the Sale of Goods Act any item sold by description must conform to its description. As the Court decided, based on expert evidence, that the car did not have a genuine Speed Six engine, it followed that the car sold to Mrs Brewer did not match its description. As a result there had been a breach of contract and Mrs Brewer was entitled to damages.

The Court also went on to state that a correct description of the car would have referred expressly to its replacement engine and described all of the significant changes which had taken place to the car over its lifetime. In reaching this conclusion the Court also placed huge importance on documents evidencing a car's continuous history if claims to authenticity are being made in order to promote a sale.

Comment

It remains to be seen whether the decision will be appealed, but for the moment this case highlights the ever-present danger lurking for classic car dealers when making claims about the cars they are selling. There has always been a fine line between throw away statements which a potential purchaser will recognize as "mere puffs" which cannot be sued upon and statements that, while still designed to achieve a sale, are in fact relied on by purchasers and which create legal obligations.

As it will not always be obvious what pre-contractual statements may give rise to legal obligations later on, prudent dealers will ensure that they keep full records of all representations (whether oral or written) made about a car and ensure that the representations they give are accurate and verifiable. The adverse consequences for dealers who do not observe these principles could find themselves in a costly mess.

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