Seth Thomas is a professional race car driver who's successful enough to buy the cars he craves. Back in 2011, he purchased a 997 generation Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, which was limited to just 600 examples. Not long after Thomas bought the car for around $190,000 he decided to sell it and make a solid profit. According to the interview he gave VIN Wiki, he used the money to buy a 991 GT3 RS and a 2011 997 GT3 RS.
Yeah, serious money. But it was the day when Thomas saw the car off to its new owner, somewhere in the Northwestern United States, that will forever stay with him. From the first moment he hired the stacker transport truck he had a bad feeling. And then he met the truckers themselves.
"The drivers looked like they were on speed or meth or whatever and hadn't slept in a week," he said. Turns out there was a problem with the transport itself. In short, a fire started and it took out the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 along with the other rare cars it was hauling. Everything was destroyed. The new owner called Thomas asking for photos of the car pre-fire for insurance purposes. His insurer wanted to verify there was no fraud, which there wasn't. But the buyer's ultimate mistake was not paying an extra $500 or so for an insured (and properly run) transport company. The hired Russian crew, outsourced by yet another shipping company, didn't have insurance.
It's so-called "parent company" did, but both sides blamed each other, and both ultimately filed for bankruptcy. The lesson to be learned? No matter what you paid for a car – anytime type of car – do a thorough check of the shipping company, assuming you require that service. Otherwise you could get stuck with meth addicted, uninsured Russians.
