No victim protection - as a classic car buyer you have to exercise minimal care
An interesting court ruling was published today in the Bernerzeitung . The buyer of a Bizzarrini GT Strada had purchased it from a dealer in the Thun region in 2007 for almost 700,000 francs. The seller had told him that the car was in good condition. Due to poor weather conditions, the buyer decided against a test drive and took delivery of the car undriven. It later turned out that the car had various defects and the buyer now wanted part of the purchase price back.
Six years later, the regional court ruled in favor of the seller and not the buyer. The seller had failed to exercise due diligence and, for example, had not taken the opportunity to sign only a preliminary contract and to make the final purchase only after a test drive in better weather.
It would have been interesting to find out how the conversations really took place, but in court it was probably word against word and in addition to the damages, the buyer now also has to pay court costs and a share of the acquitted party's legal fees.
Buying a classic car is a purchase based on trust, that's still the way it is.
We would like to thank OiO-Ruedi Müller for pointing out this interesting court ruling.
And if you would like to know more about the Bizzarrini Strada, you can read a comprehensive report here.
