A DRIVER who paid £20,000 for her dream Mercedes has slammed it as dangerous and claimed it can’t even turn a corner safely.
Rogue car dealer Khizar Bukhari found himself in the dock after selling an “unroadworthy” motor to an unsuspecting customer.
BirminghamLive/BPMThis £20,000 Mercedes was advertised as being in ‘mint condition’ but was actually ‘dangerous and unroadworthy’[/caption]
Bukhari, who was the director of The Motor Store and SOR Motors in Stourbridge, West Midlands, sold the Mercedes ML350 to a female driver for £3,500 in October 2021.
At his trial, an independent vehicle expert told Wolverhampton Crown Court that the blacked-out SUV was suffering from a “dangerous fault”, despite being advertised as in “mint condition” online.
An issue with the power steering made it “almost impossible” for the car to “safely negotiate a bend”, while the handbrake was also “defective and inoperative”.
The court heard that the woman had been left stranded in a supermarket car park when the automatic transmission also failed, while she had also complained of rusted bodywork and rainwater leakage.
She called Bukhari, also known as Callum, to demand a refund, which he refused.
However, in July he pleaded guilty to fraud and failing to act with professional diligence.
At his sentencing last week, he was handed a 13-week prison term, suspended over 12 months.
Additionally, he was ordered to pay the customer a full refund, was fined £4,800 and was ordered to pay £11,095.47 in court costs plus a £190 victim surcharge.
Councillor Ian Bevan, Dudley Council’s cabinet member for trading standards, said: “I welcome the ruling of the court in this case.
“Dudley Trading Standards will not tolerate car dealers who evade their responsibilities and risk people’s lives by putting dangerous vehicles on the road.
“Traders who expose consumers to risk of harm by selling unroadworthy or dangerous vehicles will be investigated.
“As this case shows, we will work tirelessly to bring a prosecution, which could lead to a hefty bill and a prison sentence.”
It comes after more than a fifth of Brits claimed to have been the victim of ‘cowboy’ builders in a shocking survey.
Meanwhile, a homeowner who paid £52,000 for his dream extension claimed he was “tricked” by rogue traders who took his money and ran.