Rogue car dealer hit with £20,000 court bill
A Stourbridge car dealer who sold a “dangerous and unroadworthy” vehicle has been ordered to pay nearly £20,000 by a court.
Khizar Bukhari, director of SOR Motors Ltd trading as The Motor Store and SOR Motors Ltd, was ordered by a judge to refund the £3,500 paid by the customer in full at Wolverhampton Crown Court last week.
The company was also fined £4,800 and ordered to pay £11,095.47 in court costs, along with a £190 victim surcharge.
Bukhari, also known as Callum, of Birmingham Street, Stourbridge, was sentenced to 13 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He also received three penalty points and was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days.
The court heard the company advertised a Mercedes ML350 in Autotrader as being in “mint condition”.
But an investigation by Dudley Trading Standards, which brought the case to court, showed there was a “dangerous fault” with the power steering on the car.
An independent vehicle expert said it would have made it “almost impossible to safely negotiate a bend” and also found that the handbrake system was “defective and inoperative”.
The expert concluded that “the vehicle was in a dangerous and unroadworthy condition” when sold by Bukhari in October 2021.
Both the company and Bukhari entered guilty pleas to fraud and failing to act with professional diligence at a previous court hearing, and appeared yesterday to be sentenced.
Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member responsible for trading standards at Dudley Council, said:
“I welcome the ruling of the court in this case.
“Dudley Trading Standards will not tolerate car dealers who evade their responsibilities and risk people’s lives by putting dangerous vehicles on the road.
“Traders who expose consumers to risk of harm by selling unroadworthy or dangerous vehicles will be investigated.
“As this case shows, we will work tirelessly to bring a prosecution, which could lead to a hefty bill and a prison sentence.”