An Essex car dealer has been fined after admitting selling an unroadworthy Nissan Pathfinder described by magistrates as a ‘death trap’.
The buyer, who lives in Dorset, spotted the Nissan SUV on GumtreeĀ and bought it remotely from the dealer, paying an additional fee to have it delivered.
Dorset Council’s Trading Standards reports that itĀ had been described as being “a good, solid vehicle” byĀ Adam Hussain, who is the sole director of The Car Company EssexĀ and ran a second-hand car sales business trading as RNM Car Sales Essex,Ā and wasĀ delivered with a new MOT certificate and three month warranty.
A few days checks by a local garageĀ identified that the car had severe corrosion around the suspension, the handbrake did not work, and the exhaust system was leaking –Ā faults would mean that the vehicle would fail its MOT.Ā
An independent vehicle expert concluded that the vehicle was unroadworthy and dangerous to drive, and informed Trading Standards that that the car had previously failed an MOT test some 18 months earlier with the same faults.
Hussain, 33, of Hornchurch in Essex, admitted in court the charges ofĀ selling an unroadworthy vehicle under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and trying to restrict the customerās consumer rights by using the terms āsold as seenā and ātrade saleā under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
Weymouth magistrates finedĀ fined HussainĀ Ā£1,000, ordered him to pay compensation to the consumer of Ā£3,740, and awarded the councilās full costs of Ā£2,124.25Ā
As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM’s multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.Ā
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