Sport Cars – Auckland man appeals compo ruling over Porsche sale, saying he’s owed $18,000

A man denied compensation after buying a Porsche three years older than advertised is appealing the ruling, saying he is about $18,000 out of pocket.

It comes as another similar case has come to light – that of a $97,500 Jaguar advertised as having a “vehicle year” of 2018, when it was actually manufactured in 2015.

Aucklander Wen Han bought the Porsche for $47,500 from Sunday Limited in October 2020.

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

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He has since taken the car to a registered Porsche valuer, who had estimated he had spent $18,000 more than the vehicle was worth, he said.

The North Shore resident said on Thursday he has filed appeal papers in the Auckland District Court to re-seek compensation.

At the tribunal, the company argued the Panamera could be legally be referred to as a 2015 model as that was when it was first registered.

The tribunal found the company was technically correct, but had still misled Han and breached the Fair Trading Act.

However, it ruled Han was not eligible for compensation as he had not been able to prove he had suffered loss, the tribunal said.

Han had showed Trade Me listings for other Panameras advertised for less than what he paid, but the tribunal said they did not provide a “like for like” comparison.

Han said he was glad the tribunal had ruled the company had engaged in misleading conduct.

“A normal person would assume that the year on the [car] rego label is the actual year, but it’s actually not. That is confusing.”

However, the tribunal had not given him any guidance on how to prove he had suffered loss before the hearing.

“They didn’t tell me what kind of report would be acceptable, so I prepared the report on my own,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a similar case, a man who bought a Jaguar with a “vehicle year” of 2018, but which was manufactured in 2015, has also lost a bid for compensation.

Christchurch man Martin Edward Evans bought the $97,500 F-Type convertible from Euromarque Holdings in December 2019, according to a recently-released tribunal decision.

He paid partly through selling a $45,000 Fiat Abarth to the dealer and partly through a bank transfer.

When Evans discovered the Jaguar had been manufactured in 2015, he sought a refund, saying he had owned sports cars for 20 years and usually sells them when they are two to three years old.

“Mr Evans said that, following his usual practice, he would not have agreed to purchase a 2015 vehicle in 2019,” the tribunal decision said.

The tribunal ruled Euromarque had engaged in misleading conduct and breached the Fair Trading Act, but denied Evans compensation as, like Han, he could not prove he had suffered financial loss.