A man from Chongqing, China spent 1.17 million yuan (RM743,782) to purchase a used Ferrari car, but was later told that the car had been damaged in an accident before!
Back in 2018, the man surnamed Yong, bought a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti from a car dealer in Shanghai. He was initially shown several photos of the car from different angles, reported Sina.
The car dealer told Yong that the car was sold for the first time in 2008 and that the odometer showed the car had run for more than 16,000 kilometres at that time, but failed to mention further details.
After seeing the car in real life, Yong first paid a deposit of 50,000 yuan (RM3,1785) and later settled the rest of the payment before returning to Chongqing with the car.
Two years down the road, Yong felt that the vehicle had some irregular jitters and consulted the professionals, who conducted a four-wheel alignment on the car. The results showed that the frame of the vehicle had been re-welded and showed signs of being in a serious accident previously.
Yong then discovered that the Ferrari was involved in an accident in 2012 and was repaired for 928,587 yuan (RM590,313). The repairs included a replacement of sheet metal parts, replacement of the front beam, disassembling and installing the instrument panel, and spray painting over dozens of parts on the car.
Maintenance records showed that the entire front of the car had been damaged in the accident, reported Oriental Daily.
Yong believed that the car dealer had cheated him and hired a lawyer to file a lawsuit to protect his rights and interests as a consumer.
“If I knew there was such a big accident, who would’ve bought this car? I feel so fooled,” he said.
For illustration purposes only.
In March this year, the case was heard in Jiading District People’s Court of Shanghai. The car dealer claimed that he wasn’t aware the car had been in a serious accident before, but Yong said that as a professional, the car dealer should be able to detect fraud.
Additionally, the car dealer believed that he did not need to inform Yong about it because the accident was not a ‘major accident’. However, Yong said after gathering the opinions and advice from professionals and lawyers, it should be classified as a major accident as the car was seriously damaged and the repair costs were expensive.
The car dealer then pointed out that Yong, who handles legal matters in a second-hand car business, should have made the necessary inquiries about the car before purchasing it. But Yong refuted and said that whether he is a legal counsellor or not, it does not affect his rights as a consumer.
Meanwhile, Yong and the car dealer have different opinions on the market price of the car at the date of the accident in 2012. The car dealer thinks the car is worth six million yuan (RM3,814,269), while Yong thinks it’s only worth three million yuan (RM1,907,134).
As of now, the two parties have still not come to an agreement.
