[Historybuff]

I advocate checking out a car by the serial number ( if the owner will give it)
as much as you can before you see the car. If the number doesn't jive then you have to be suspicious right from the get go. I remember seeing a RR Silver Cloud convertible where the very prominent chassis number under the bonnett had been deliverately obscured, probably to hide the fact it was cut down from a four door standard steel saloon.

Problem is when you check it out, your queries attract claim jumpers.

As soon as they realize that SN _______might be for sale, they might be able to arrange financing quicker and beat you to it.
My approach back when I used to buy exotic cars was to find out where it was and show up with a cashier's check in the owner's name and urge him to go to the bank to find out if the check was real. Then to buy it and tow it away the same day, running or not.

There still are one owner AC Cobras out there but I hesitate to go check any out for fear of starting the stampede of claim jumpers and spooking the owner who might not even have thought of selling it. I wouldn't approach it until I had the approximate amount you think it's worth ready to issue in a cashier's check. And condition matters not, who cares if the upholstery is ripped or the paint faded? We're talking a solid chain of ownership, documented, and a SN not claimed by anyone else.

And here's one lesson hard learned. One time I went to check out a Ferrari in Sna Garbriel or someplace close with Ghia coachwork (rare) and a Chevy V8. The seller wanted 40K. I took a Dutch guy with me who was visiting. I didn't buy the car then, not convinced it was worth getting if it didn't have its original engine. Then about six months later,one of my clients said he still wanted it, and sent the check and I went back to buy the car and the owner said "Oh, didn't your Dutch friend tell you, he came and bought the car."

So you can't even trust who you bring with you....

Also in a foreign country, if you find one in Nepal or some odd place, I would investigate how to transfer funds first. US law prohibits you from taking more than ten grand out of the US in your wallet without reporting it.

Still, I like to check out the rumors of rare cars..and where they might be even if I am out of the exotic car buying business now. Just today I met a mechanic who knows where some far East dictator's cronies have about 30 cars stored since the salad days when they were all emptying the treasury