Purchasing a rare vehicle for a high price is always an exciting time, but those who value their new cars want to be assured that their wallets are protected when they make such a purchase. And they can be, when they take the right legal steps to protect themselves.
The deal is done and you’re celebrating your recent purchase of a rare vehicle that you’ve always wanted to own. The rare vehicle wasn’t cheap – you’ve now invested thousands of dollars into your new car – but you feel good that you’ve finally acquired the collectible that you’ve always wanted. Most people would think that once you’ve finalized the transaction you’re in the clear, but as with most things in life, this isn’t always so.
Purchasing a rare vehicle presents a variety of risks, especially for those who blindly throw their money at a purchase without knowing what they’re getting for their hard-earned dollars. Consequently, one way to protect yourself and safeguard the money you’re investing in a collectible vehicle is by having the buyer and seller enter into a legal agreement prior to completing the transaction.
While the overall purpose of a hold harmless release agreement is to protect against certain types of liability, this type of agreement is especially important for high value transactions, such as a rare vehicle purchase. Such an agreement between the buyer and seller will typically state that if any issues arise relating to the transaction, then the buyer will not be able to hold the seller accountable, because they’ve assumed all liability and no longer have any potential claims against the seller.
What kind of risks are we talking about? Well, there are a number of ways in which a rare vehicle could be misrepresented or sold in a shady manner, and these kinds of issues could pop up despite a buyer’s best efforts to avoid them. A vehicle might be misrepresented in such a way that it isn’t worth as much as the buyer had initially thought, or perhaps the sale of the vehicle violates the laws of the buyer’s country or state, leading to issues with registration or taxes.
Undoubtedly, some buyers of collectible vehicles aren’t aware of the legal issues they could face, which makes them more susceptible to scams. Depending on where a buyer is from, there can be various legal requirements that they need to abide by relating to the importation of a vehicle into their country or state, and by failing to do so, the vehicle could be held at the border, or the buyer could be subject to steep fees, fines, taxes, or other penalties. All of these different issues could potentially leave a buyer feeling robbed.
Or, a vehicle might not be road worthy despite the fact that it was sold as such. While the buyer might have wanted the vehicle to be road worthy, they might have accepted a bunch of different conditions when purchasing it, such as that the vehicle was sold as is and that it didn’t have to pass inspection. Either way, if the car turns out to be unfit for road use, the buyer may not have a claim against the seller if the car was sold on that basis. The buyer might not have paid as much for the vehicle had they known that it wasn’t road worthy, but the hold harmless release agreement states that the buyer fully understood this, and that they assume all liability.
Fortunately, by entering into a enforceable and comprehensive hold harmless release agreement, these conditions could be avoided, and the buyer could then have the peace of mind that they deserve knowing that they are protected against a variety of liability.