Refund settlement negotiated for Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Sahara 3.3D
Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Because the legal rules are different when something goes wrong with a vehicle bought for and by your business, disputes can be tricky.
However, it’s not easy to disclaim liability for misrepresentation especially if the supplying dealer has clearly falsely described something.
This was the case involving a Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Sahara imported from Australia and sold by a UK dealer for over £90,000.00 + VAT.
Rejecting an imported car: how this story began
Mr M wanted a late model or new 7 seater 4×4 for his limited company and found several Land Cruiser 300 Sahara’s online, all with low mileage and imported from Australia, but all UK registered.
Mr M contacted the seller and attended the dealership to view the Vehicle. The 4×4 was around a year old with low mileage and it was promoted as having a full-service history and being supplied with the balance of the manufacturer’s 5 year new vehicle warranty.
Everything about the Toyota suited his business needs, so Mr M agreed to buy it for over £100,000 including VAT.
When he collected it, he noticed the odometer didn’t seem to properly record the distance travelled, so Mr M informed the dealer.
He was told that a CAN filter had been installed to enable the vehicle to display miles rather than kilometres. Mr M wasn’t happy with that, as he was worried about whether the mileage was genuine. He rejected it, which the dealer declined.
Pursuing an out of court settlement for a car dispute
Mr M contacted us to advise him and attempt to resolve the dispute out of court. We first researched the provenance by contacting Toyota Australia who advised us the vehicle warranty was not transferable.
We checked the warranty T’s &C’s which revealed that even if the warranty had been transferable, it would not have covered the vehicle because it had been modified by the installation of the CAN filter.
Finally, although it had been recently serviced by a UK main dealer, there was an outstanding safety recall which hadn’t been dealt with.
We contacted the dealer’s lawyers, setting out a full analysis of the misrepresentations and explaining that this entitled the business to rescind (unwind) the contract and be refunded the purchase price.
How we secured a refund for an imported Toyota
After some time and effort in dealing with the replies from the lawyers, it was eventually agreed that the supplying dealer would buy the Land Cruiser back from our client for the original purchase price.
It’s not uncommon for dealerships to look for a compromise without admitting liability and agreeing to a rejection.
In our view, it’s all about getting the client’s money back rather than the terminology. This case demonstrates the need for concessions when dealing with disputes.
Need a refund for a faulty imported car?
If you’re looking to be refunded for a faulty imported car, we’re the experts to trust; contact Stormcatcher Law for advice on 0333 700 7676.
About Philip Harmer
Philip studied dispute resolution as part of the Bar Professional Training Course and went on to qualify in international commercial arbitration with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. His early transactional experience, combined with his practical grounding in complex vehicle and building disputes, makes him a formidable negotiator and highly effective in resolving matters without the need for court proceedings.
He regularly advises on dispute resolution strategy, ADR processes, and commercial mediation.
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