Dealer breached Fair Trading Act in sale of $48k Porsche, but refund bid dismissed

Monday, 8 February 2021

Wen Han bought a Porsche Panamera, but sought a refund claiming the advertisement was misleading. (File photo)

A man who bought an eight-year-old Porsche, believing it to be a newer model, has lost a bid for compensation.

The car dealer breached the Fair Trading Act, but does not have to issue a refund as the buyer could not prove he had suffered loss, the Motor Vehicles Disputes Tribunal said.

Wen Han bought a Porsche Panamera for $47,500 from Sunday Ltd in October 2020.

It was advertised as a “2015 Porsche Panamera”, but was actually manufactured in 2012, according to a recently-released tribunal decision.

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In November, Han sought to return the vehicle and get a refund.

New versions of the Porsche Panamera are released frequently. This photo shows the interior of the 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.

He alleged the car did not comply with its description and Sunday Ltd had engaged in misleading conduct.

Sunday Ltd denied liability and said the car was described as a 2015 Panamera because that was the year it was first registered.

“For the purposes of the Motor Vehicle Register administered by the NZ Transport Agency and the Consumer Information Standards (Used Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2008, the ‘vehicle year’ is the year of first registration anywhere in the world rather than the year in which the vehicle was manufactured,” it argued.

Tribunal adjudicator Brett Carter said the ad was not false, because the car was technically a 2015 Panamera under those rules.

However, it was misleading, as a “reasonable consumer” would have understood the car to have been manufactured in 2015, or failing that, in 2014, he said.

“I accept that Sunday Ltd did not know that the vehicle was manufactured in 2012 and did not know that its description of the vehicle as a 2015 Porsche Panamera was misleading.

“However, that absence of knowledge provides no defence.”

Sunday Ltd had, “albeit inadvertently”, breached the Fair Trading Act, Carter said.

Han showed the tribunal Trade Me listings for four other Panameras with ‘vehicle years’ of between 2009 and 2011, advertised for less than what he paid.

He alleged he had lost between $6500 and $22,202 in buying the car, servicing it and replacing a part.

But Carter said the other listings did not provide a “like-for-like” comparison.

Han had not proved he had paid more for the car than it was worth – for example, by getting it valued at a Porsche franchise, the decision said.

Han’s application for a refund was dismissed.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Wen Han as ‘Wei Han’, which is the way his name was spelled in the tribunal decision.