Well Kurt, a lot of reasons come to mind as to why it's nice to have a certificate, but the first one that pops in my head is that certificate is stating what you're looking at is a real Z. You have to admit there are a ton of fakes, and they are getting better at making these data plates, cutting out vins and replacing, or rebody etc... So it's nice to have someone in the field knowledgeable enough to determine what you are seeing is a genuine born Z28. So I see it as important at the very least to provide that piece of paper showing all potential buyers that the car in question isn't a fake. I don't see the certificate as being misleading at all. Jerry states right on the front page the RPO with his signature. Are we questioning his judgement on the cars status? To me that first page is just as important as what follows on the other pages. Besides that, like John says, it's a nice piece to frame and hang on the wall or display at a show.
Moving on to the other pages is where some of the interesting stuff is, so yes I agree in that respect. Some of us are number crunchers, and hardcore collectors worry about this part, but what may or may not be there is not always a deal breaker for the average buyer. That just depends on the individual. I personally think it's great that these pages show what may or may not be original to the car, and I like to see numbers matching stuff like most here, but the most important part to me is that we are at a minimum looking at a real Z with it's born with data plate and vins. The first page (certificate) shows that much. In a nutshell, the entire packet, including the certificate is all very important. They go hand in hand with each other documenting the car, and looks more professional in the process.