OV9

GG. wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 2:26 pm Its an interesting one that.

Not entirely my area of law, but I would have expected (subject to specific terms agreed between the dealer and the owner of the car - which may very well be how these things work) that the dealer would be selling the car as the agent and fiduciary of the owner. Any proceeds from that sale would be subject to a proprietary interest in favour of the seller (potentially via a constructive trust?).

It may be of little help if there are no funds left at all to meet claims but I'd be surprised (again, subject to T's & C's) if the seller had no better claim than an unsecured creditor to his pro rata share of the liquidation proceeds of the insolvent business.

Maybe there is case law coming to the opposite conclusion?

JonMad wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 2:46 pm Well that looked to be a pretty comprehensive (post-purchase) inspection report

Jimexpl wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 4:07 pm

JonMad wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 2:46 pm Well that looked to be a pretty comprehensive (post-purchase) inspection report

Ten years ago, when a 2.4S would have been £35k, other than the structural issue, none of the details would have been a problem; it would just be an old car with niggles.
It’s easy to check the spec of old Porsche, and to restore them to look right, and I expect that SCoM didn’t actually do any proper checks and just saw £.
My old boss, a classic car veteran, bought a 73 RS that turned out not to be. The only way of telling was removing the correctly stamped liquid metal from the body number hidden in the dash, uncovering a 2.4S body number from the same year.
We only found out because I was tracing the history, and a previous racer crashed the RS and transferred everything over to his 2.4 road car in the early 90’s. A subsequent individual had doctored the number to increase the value. We bought it from a Porsche main dealer in Europe!

Orange Cola wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 4:11 pm

Jimexpl wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 4:07 pm

JonMad wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 2:46 pm Well that looked to be a pretty comprehensive (post-purchase) inspection report

Ten years ago, when a 2.4S would have been £35k, other than the structural issue, none of the details would have been a problem; it would just be an old car with niggles.
It’s easy to check the spec of old Porsche, and to restore them to look right, and I expect that SCoM didn’t actually do any proper checks and just saw £.
My old boss, a classic car veteran, bought a 73 RS that turned out not to be. The only way of telling was removing the correctly stamped liquid metal from the body number hidden in the dash, uncovering a 2.4S body number from the same year.
We only found out because I was tracing the history, and a previous racer crashed the RS and transferred everything over to his 2.4 road car in the early 90’s. A subsequent individual had doctored the number to increase the value. We bought it from a Porsche main dealer in Europe!

Was there any comeback on that or were you left with arguably the best replica going?

Nathan wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 4:04 pm Simon - who was the salesman who was a PH regular who used to bang on all the time about how much they sold?

Believe sales stalled once he left but always felt it didn't add up

Ascender wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 5:11 pmWhen you look at how 911 values have sky-rocketed over the last while, you can only imagine what sort of shenanigans are going on to try and make models look like more desirable ones. Would love to read more on that sort of thing.

A friend of mine who lives abroad, had four 911's for sale with Specialist cars of Malton. In late October someone told me that they were on the edge of going bust, so I called my friend and told him that we needed to get his cars out of there. As he's not in the UK, I arranged for my transport guy to go and collect them on behalf of my friend , the only problem was that two of the cars weren't there and have never been found. My friend is down almost £200,000 ! I know of at least half a dozen people who are also out of pocket between £10,000 and £220,000.

Highlights of those docs:
Of these 17 vehicles, eight are embroiled in this litigation and include a Ferrari F40, Porsche 2.7 RS Touring, Lamborghini Miura, Porsche 2.7RS Lightweight, Porsche 2.7RS Touring, Porsche 959 Komfort, Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 and an Alfa Romeo Montreal.

which, allegedly, went missing as follows:
During the evening hours of October 12, 2015 — less than one day before a hearing was to take place before the High Court in the United Kingdom concerning the ownership of these cars — the eight referenced automobiles were removed from Specialist Cars’ warehouse facility

The owner of a high-value sports car dealership has been jailed for fraudulent trading.

John Patrick Hawkins, 66, was owner and director of Specialist Cars of Malton Ltd (SCML), and well-known in the business of trading expensive vehicles – Porsches in particular.

But he now faces years behind bars, after SCML collapsed into liquidation, and an investigation by North Yorkshire Police uncovered his fraudulent efforts to keep the failing business afloat.

Many of the customers deceived by Hawkins described knowing him for many years through their shared love of Porsches. Some even developed friendships, meeting for dinner and staying over at his house.

In spite of that, Hawkins took advantage of them, leaving them £1.5 million out of pocket.

SCML accounts analysed by North Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit showed trade had begun to slow down, with money received from customers doing no more than paying off an overdraft which was increasing year-on-year.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Hawkins sought to keep the business going by raising money in several different ways – all of them dishonest.

He would keep money he had received from selling vehicles given to him to sell on a ‘sale or return’ basis. On other occasions he sold vehicles being stored at SCML without the owners’ knowledge or agreement. He raised money by selling shares in vehicles he did not own. He obtained large sums of money advanced to him under finance agreements he was not entitled to enter into, and when confronted by customers wanting their money, he gave personal guarantees and assigned ownership of other vehicles he did not own as security.

When SCML was placed into liquidation in February 2020, many customers had to take legal action to recover their interest in the vehicles that had passed through Hawkins’ hands. Some never received anything at all, including people who were relying on the sale of vehicles as part of their retirement plan.

In one instance, a man whom Hawkins called one of his closest friends had to sell his belongings to avoid losing his house, having been persuaded to invest a substantial sum of money he never saw again.

Hawkins was interviewed by North Yorkshire Police in August 2020. He provided a prepared statement saying that he had acted honestly throughout and had co-operated fully with the administrators – after which he answered “no comment” to investigators’ questions.

But in court, Hawkins, of Coneysthorpe, Malton, pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading from late 2018 onwards, accepting that the total loss to those he deceived was £1.5 million.

On 9 January 2026, he was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, and issued with a ten-year Directors Disqualification Order.

A further hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act is due to follow later this year for the confiscation of available assets.

North Yorkshire Police fraud investigator Constable Emma Harris said: “In order to maintain the façade of a successful business, Hawkins lied to customers time and time again, and falsified documents to give credence to those lies.

“The financial and emotional impact on his victims has been nothing short of devastating, and it is right that he now faces a lengthy prison sentence.”