Court orders car seller to refund dealership

MISREPRESENTATION- A SIGNED warranty is a contractual statement to which a person is bound, a judge found after the seller of a car sold the vehicle as being a 2013 model to a car dealership, while it later emerged that the vehicle was, in fact, a 2005 model

- ZELDA VENTER

The result was that the dealership paid the seller R60 000 more than what the vehicle was worth. When this was later discovered, the seller refused to pay the money back that he was overpaid with.

The Magistrate's Court in East London ruled against Eastern Cape Motors when it turned to court. The magistrate reasoned that the dealership should have established the model of the vehicle before entering into the sale agreement.

On appeal, the Eastern Cape High Court sitting in Makhanda said the magistrate was wrong and ordered that the seller, retired police officer Cornelius Wolmerans, must reimburse the R60 000 to the dealership.