Car-dealer pays out over Toyota in guise of Lexus

A former director of the Government Information Bureau has settled his case against a Dublin car-dealer over a luxury second-hand car that was not quite what it seemed.

Mr Eoin Neeson, who headed the bureau from 1968 to 1973, sued Aston Cars Ltd in Tallaght and Mr Brian Tobin for allegedly selling him a Toyota Soarer coupe in the guise of a Lexus.

The company had denied the claim. But one of its mechanics told the Circuit Civil Court that he routinely changed badges because Toyota Soarer owners preferred people to think they were driving Lexus models.

The mechanic said he had changed the badge on the car in question at Mr Neeson's request, a claim Mr Neeson denied.

Mr Eamonn Gibbons, a car sales director, said the luxury models were built in Japan by Toyota and sold there as Toyota cars. He added: "Lexus is a prestige name in Ireland where the marketing strategy initially was that people would not accept Toyota as a prestigious saloon."

Toyota Soarers were sold in the US as Lexus coupes, he said, but no such car had been marketed here, other than as a used Japanese-imported Toyota.

Mr Neeson bought the car as a Lexus in 1998 for £30,000, but a year later sold it as a Soarer for only £13,500.

The mechanic, Mr Tony Kearns, told Mr Justice Smith that in the past two years he had transformed eight Toyota Soarers to Lexus Soarers by changing the badges.

The dispute was settled on the basis that Aston Cars and Mr Tobin pay Mr Neeson an "all-in" figure of £13,500, including damages and legal costs.

Lexus marked Toyota's entry into the top end of the car market, and the brand has been a huge success since the first models were introduced in 1989. Models currently on sale here range from the IS200 manual at £29,700 to the LS430 which costs £78,215.

The director and general manager of Lexus Ireland, Mr Mark Teevan, said the case highlighted the growing "grey market" in imported second-hand vehicles, but used cars should never be rebadged.

Lexus was the luxury division of the Toyota Corporation, Mr Teevan said, with engineering, design and manufacturing facilities separate from Toyota.