Car salesman must pay out over £13,000 after he sold a dangerous vehicle to a Sheffield customer

Sheffield Crown Court heard on August 15 how Mark Roberts, aged 61, of Fleet Cars Direct, on Milethorn Lane, near Wheatley, Doncaster, sold a Nissan Pathfinder for £4,300 with a £395 warranty but the vehicle was later found to be in a dangerous condition and not fit for the road.

Roberts admitted he had used misleading advertising, had sold a vehicle in a dangerous state, had misled the buyer about the mileage, and had sold on a suspect warranty after the buyer from Sheffield had complained to Doncaster council’s trading standards office.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Roberts he had made “utterly erroneous and dangerous representations” to unsuspecting buyers and in particular the complainant who wished to buy a vehicle capable of towing a caravan.

He said: “In effect he was sold a worthless, old jalopy that should never have been on the road and that should never have been sold. The vehicle was dangerous.”

Prosecuting barrister Brian Outhwaite explained the complainant – a family man with children – had spotted an advert in the Auto Trader magazine describing the vehicle as well-looked after, in excellent condition with a 12-month MOT, a full service history and with excellent bodywork.

Roberts reduced the price from £4,590 to £4,300 after the complainant spotted rust on the wheel arches and he was wrongly persuaded to take a 12-month warranty for £395, according to Mr Outhwaite.

Mr Outhwaite said the complainant also noticed the vehicle’s last MOT was four months earlier with advisories about rust and corrosion.

He added that after the complainant had driven the vehicle back to his Sheffield home the driver’s door would not open and after reading the warranty he realised it applied to 10-year-old vehicles and the Pathfinder was 12-years-old.

Citizens Advice Direct advised the complainant to get a refund, according to Mr Outhwaite, and the complainant found significant problems with corrosion and holes in the chassis after a service and that it would fail an MOT and that it was not roadworthy.

The complainant requested a refund and Doncaster council’s trading standards tested the vehicle and it failed its MOT and the complainant sent two letters to Roberts demanding a refund.

Dale Harris, defending, said Roberts has never been in a criminal or civil court and he has no previous convictions and has had no civil actions against him.

Judge Richardson acknowledged what happened was not Roberts’s normal practice and that he had made a mistake, apologises and accepts full responsibility.

But Judge Richardson said: “In my judgement this is a serious example of a secondhand car salesman conducting his business operations in a comprehensibly dangerous and illegal manner.”

He fined Roberts £6,000 and ordered him to pay £7,395 in costs. Judge Richardson pointed out Roberts has incurred other related costs not subject to the proceedings which means he will have to pay out a total in excess of £20,000.

Judge Richardson said: “He is the architect of his own misfortune and let this be a very clear warning to any rapacious, crooked secondhand car salesmen.”