Famous footballer’s crashed Ferrari at the centre of a legal dispute

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Buying a car online, especially halfway around the world, can be a risky business. Even when you look at a car in person, you’re never entirely sure you’ll spot a detail that’s amiss. A man in Australia relied on a British dealer’s description that a Ferrari 360 Spider was in “excellent” condition, only to find out that its famous owner had previously declared it a total loss.

A man and a woman were caught racing against each other in the street.

The thing is, lying about something like this will sooner or later catch up with a car dealer, as was the case here. After buying the car and shipping it down under, the new owner immediately noticed that the Ferrari was in “bad shape,” says The Telegraph.

Since the 360 ​​Spider belonged to the famous soccer player (or footballer, as they say in the UK) Ian Wright, it was not too difficult for the new owner to find news reports about the head-on collision with a tree in July 2004 in which the car was involved.

But the wheels of justice often grind slowly, even if they are merciless. This case has been in the British courts for five years now. But a recent court ruling in favour of the buyer of the damaged Ferrari means that the man should receive financial compensation from the car dealer.

According to the report, the Ferrari 360 Spider was repaired, but not perfectly. Apparently, the trunk lid didn’t fit properly due to structural damage, so someone added shims to one of the hinges to compensate.

Other signs included a crack in one of the headlight housings, the paint had major defects, and even the underside of the convertible top was damaged. We think these are the kinds of things you notice when you look at a car in person, at least most of them.

That’s the risk of making a purchase based on online photos alone. And indeed, a legal dispute can take years.

Image via The Telegraph/Champion News

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