In my last article I introduced the standards definitions of Original, Authentic and Condition in relation to classic vehicles, and I ended by mentioning a last factor to consider when approaching a classic vehicle: Trust
The Oxford Dictionary says trust is “Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something”
If I then apply trust to a given rating of a classic vehicle I would know how much I can rely on that information so I can make a good decision. But how can I rate trust itself? Are there different levels of trust?
Yes, there are. Let me explain.
My former professional experience encompasses 20 years work in IT Governance, Security & Compliance, during those I had the opportunity to audit companies’ internal controls based on processes and technology designed to mitigate the risk of fraud – something that is an ongoing challenge in the classic vehicle market.
As you can imagine, the design of those controls can be extraordinarily complex, however there is one extremely simple control that is highly effective: the “Four Eyes Principle.”
The “Four Eyes Principle” requires two persons to confirm a fact or action before executing another action. For example before executing a payment both the head of treasury and CEO must confirm the amount and beneficiary, or another example closer to our daily life – going to a public notary.
In both of these examples we can TRUST the payment has been properly executed and the document signed off by the notary is the TRUTH.
So going back to classic cars, then the question would be “Can I trust on a given documentation explaining the history and provenance of the car?”
Let’s apply the Fours Eyes Principle then, and ask “Who has documented the car?” It is just the owner or there are other parties participating in the car’s history? Is there evidence of all the events the car went through?
In my opinion there are four levels of trust when assessing the documentation of a classic car:
- Level 1: the car has been documented by owners AND third parties with supporting evidence
- Level 2: the car has been documented by owners with supporting evidence
- Level 3: the car has been documented by owners with no supporting evidence
- Level 4: there is no documentation
The Motor Chain empowers the Classic Vehicle Community to reach Level 1 using a seamless while powerful combination of technology and process. TMC allows owners to not only enter their own documentation, but to invite garages, historians, certifiers and mentors to support and build upon that documentation. Join the ride and start your engines!
Join the ride, and happy driving to all of you!