A car sales company lied about the crash history and number of owners of a car it sold, the Circuit Civil Court heard yesterday. Emmet Road Autos Ltd, Inchicore, Dublin, must pay almost twice the price of the crashed 1996 Renault Clio it sold to Ms Terri Hill, Dollymount Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin.
Mr Micheal O Scanaill, for Ms Hill, said that in January Emmet Road Autos advertised the "low mileage, one owner, lady driver" vehicle for £5,750. Assured there had only been one female owner and that the car had not been involved in a collision, Ms Hill bought it for £5,500.
Afterwards she discovered it had more than one owner, it had been involved in a crash and had been subjected to a £2,000 poor-quality repair job.
Mr O Scanaill told the Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Esmond Smyth, that Emmet Road Autos had not defended Ms Hill's claim. Judgment was granted against the garage in June. Judge Smyth awarded Ms Hill £5,750 damages and ordered Emmet Road Autos to pay all costs, including reserved costs, bringing the garage's overall bill to just under £10,000.