The Texas couple claim they purchased their ‘Vette from a Mecum Auctions event
5 hours ago
- Dale Wilkinson has owned his 1962 Corvette since 2006 and found a dupe in 2022.
- Lawyers for the man suspect a skilled builder may have built a dupe of his car.
- The man is currently in mediation with the owners of the suspected Corvette replica.
Imagine you’ve owned a classic 1962 Chevrolet Corvette for well over a decade, but when you move to a new state and attempt to get the car registered, you discover there’s a clone of your car already registered. According to Dale Wilkinson, this is exactly what happened to him in 2022 when he moved to Florida, only to find that there was an identical Corvette to his with the same VIN that had been registered in Texas.
Wilkinson purchased his 1962 Corvette in 2006 and believes that someone intentionally built a dupe of his car with a fake VIN and proceeded to drive it in Texas. He has sued the couple who own the Texas car, alleging that the existence of this duplicate has eroded the value of his car.
Read: This Is Not Your Grandpa’s Corvette Even If It Looks Like One
There’s no indication that the couple who own the ‘Vette in Texas are the real culprits and built the car, and the lawsuit indeed doesn’t assert that they did. Instead, Wilkinson’s lawyer, Stephen Gehringer, suspects a skilled car builder may have manufactured the replica and sold it on, pretending it to be a real Corvette. According to the couple, they purchased the car from Mecum Auctions in 2022 and have provided receipts of the sale to the court.
An expert hired by Wilkinson asserts the VIN tag of the Texas car is a counterfeit made from aluminum, rather than steel like the original VIN. It’s also allegedly uses the wrong font.
“The loser has to go to their state police and have a whole new VIN issued for the car, and that ruins the value,” Gehringer told the Houston Chronicle. “It’s no longer a collectible item.”
According to the expert involved in the case, Wilkinson’s car could lose up to $110,000 in value if it isn’t declared to be the original. A trial has been scheduled for next year, but the parties involved are currently in mediation in an attempt to reach an agreement.