[ou812545]

Everyone, thanks for you responses, but the car I decided on was taken away.

I promise to not vent too much, but this is what happened.

I found the car of my dreams on ebay and it was in Southern California:

I made an offer of $49K on Friday. We agreed on $52K on Saturday. We only had to work out the details on who would pay for shipping between SoCal and NorCal, he said he would get back to me with a shipping quote.
I insisted to put down a deposit and the person I was dealing with said I have his word that the car would not be sold under me and he is the owners son. ### Jr. All was good, I had his word.

I'm sure many of you have experience that feeling that this could not happen fast enough and even waking up in the middle of the night thinking of your new toy. That was me for several nights. My poor wife.

Several days passed and he said he is still waiting on a shipping quote. I was able to get 3 quotes in 15 minutes. (first red flag)
Then he said he would have to wait for there DMV lady to figure out how to do the paperwork given the car was registered in NY. (second red flag).

I began to call the DMV, search cc, and call friends at classic car dealers to ask how to buy a special construction car from a dealer and release them of liability for smog and safety. It was clear, there is a legal term given to me by the DMV called "Demand of Title". It simply puts the responsibility on the buyer for smog and safety. I gave this tip to the "reputable" seller and again thought all was good. I told him that I wanted to pay for the car today and to have it shipped on Saturday.

Then I received this email (not even a phone call):
"Dan - Our Dealer Principal does not want us to retail this car. He is concerned about the safety liability the car poses due to the fact that is has no modern safety features and is a handful to drive. We have encountered multiple suits with our Ferraris already and he said that he does not want to expose himself with this car. I apologize for wasting your time and energy, but my hands are tied in this situation."

I immediately called and asked what happened and what they planned to do with the car if it could not be sold in CA. They said that they can only sell it to a whole-seller.
I have a good friend who is a whole-seller, so I said we could do the deal through him.

I was actually begging to buy this car....

Well, he ended the call by telling me the car has already been sold, sorry.
He didn't hold to his word.

Anyways, the venting is over and I will continue my search.

Thanks again to everyone who has answered all my SPF and CA Registration questions.

Dan