Dudley car dealer guilty of selling 'dangerous' sports car
A Dudley motor dealer who sold a sports car which was 'too dangerous to use on the road' has landed a court bill of more than £4,000.
Car dealer Arfan Aslam, trading as Adeez Motors, of Beech Green, had sold the Mazda RX-8 in July 2018 – describing it as a 'stunning example – drives perfect'.
But following a complaint from the buyer, Dudley Council's trading standards commissioned a vehicle inspection which found severe corrosion in a number of key areas, including the sills near to seat belt and suspension mounting points and all of the metal ferrule attachments of the flexible brake hoses.
The vehicle examiner concluded the Mazda was unroadworthy; too dangerous to use on the road.
Aslam told Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court on March 14 that the Mazda had passed an MOT test in March 2018 and that he didn't have any facilities to check underneath vehicles.
He was found guilty of four offences under the Road Traffic Act and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
Aslam was fined a total of £1,760 and had three points added to his driving licence. He was also ordered to pay £2,000 in costs, £325 compensation to the buyer and a victim surcharge of £44.
Councillor Gaye Partridge, Dudley Council's cabinet member for communities, said: "This prosecution sends out a clear message to car traders that they have a responsibility to describe vehicles accurately and check those they sell are safe to use on the road.
"A valid MOT Certificate is not a guarantee that a vehicle will be roadworthy for the full 12 months.
"Dudley Trading Standards will not hesitate to investigate complaints where consumers have been misled, or where their lives have been put at risk by being sold a dangerous and unroadworthy vehicle.”
