A Co Mayo fireman was awarded damages of €26,450 by the Dublin Circuit Court yesterday against a Tallaght car company after it sold him an Audi A3 car that had been written off in a Garda chase.
Maurice Ryan sued L&L Autos on the Belgard Road after he discovered that the Audi A3 he bought from the firm in June 2006 had been written off in a crash, repaired and sold to him.
Within days of Mr Ryan buying the car for €24,950, the car's steering locked and Mr Ryan found that the foglights were not working and the fan belt was emitting a loud noise "like a tractor".
Four days after the purchase, Mr Ryan brought the Audi to a local mechanic who said it was damaged and repairs carried out had been poor. He said it was unsafe and not roadworthy.
Mr Ryan's counsel, Sarah-Kate Foley BL, told the court yesterday that the car was "seriously defected". She said Mr Ryan had failed to recover from L&L Autos the €24,950 paid for the vehicle.
Mr Ryan, from Ballina, said at one point he telephoned L&L Autos and spoke to one of the company's managers. "He told me the car was now my property and I was not getting a f***ing penny," said Mr Ryan.
Mr Ryan said he returned the Audi because it was unsafe. The company blamed Mr Ryan for the damage done and the "bad roads in Co Mayo". Mr Ryan said the damage had been done before he purchased it.
He said employees from L&L Autos arrived at his fire station in Co Mayo with the Audi and tried to return the car to him, but he refused to accept it because it was unsafe and he wanted his money back instead. He said the company's employees intimidated him at the station.
The Audi's previous owner, Kevin Cronin, told the court that he bought the Audi in England in March 2004 and had it for more than a year. It was stolen from his home in Dublin, involved in a chase with gardaí and written off.
Ms Foley said her client was out of pocket. Mr Ryan said he was without a car and that it was essential he have a car because as a fireman he was on call 24 hours a day. "It has been a bit of a nightmare to be honest with you," he said. L&L Autos did not defend the action in court yesterday.
Judge Matt Deery awarded Mr Ryan damages of €24,950 and €1,500 for loss and inconvenience.
Ms Foley said Mr Ryan was concerned that he would not be able to recover his money from the company as it was "considerably in the red". She said the company was wound up last month.
The judge suggested that the pleadings be amended to include the two directors of L&L Autos, Shane and Stephen Lyons, as defendants because the company was in liquidation.
An investigation involving the Road Safety Authority, the Garda, the Department of Transport and the Revenue Commissioners is ongoing into a claim that cars classed as total write-offs following crashes have been put back on the road and sold to new owners.