Buyer beware

Your excellent article on industry regulation (News special, May) was long overdue, highlighting as it did some of the myriad ways in which buyers of classic cars can be duped. Too often the classic car media plays down the problems you highlight, especially in articles promoting auctions and the cars for sale with their advertisers. So much so that there is an increasing number of enthusiasts who regard that media as being the passive servant of an industry it should sometimes be challenging.

More so now than ever before, the criteria for evaluating the condition of a classic are cosmetic: good paint, nice interior, clean engine bay, etc. But, as anyone with hands-on competence knows, a seductively shiny coat of paint can hide a very large can of worms, of which a bent chassis, terminal rot and a knackered engine are only some of the more expensive examples. Even an expert could be forgiven for missing the first unless they are allowed to drive the car.

I know of someone who bought a very expensive classic with a slight misfire; a grand was knocked off the price for the cost of the service that, they were assured, was all it needed. In fact it required a full engine overhaul, costing tens of thousands. And wherever classic car enthusiasts congregate you will hear numerous such stories.

Prof Jonathan Dollimore Heathfield, East Sussex