Almost half of an Opel Astra had been resprayed before it was sold by Dublin car sales firm, Mark Dennis Opel, as a brand new car, a judge said yesterday.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne also outlined "a litany of faults" which Co Meath teacher Mr Aidan McCabe had found in his new car before ordering the car sales firm and Opel Ireland Ltd to take back the car and refund Mr McCabe's €20,000-plus purchase price.
Judge Dunne said she could not determine when, where or by whom the respray had been carried out but was satisfied something had happened to the car between its arrival in Ireland in April 2000 and its purchase four months later by Mr McCabe.
"Somebody going in off the street to buy a new car is entitled to expect it is in factory condition and not resprayed," she said.
Mr McCabe told his counsel, Mr John Martin, his problems began while driving the car from the New Street, Dublin, premises of Mark Dennis to his home in Follistown, Navan.
The court heard that apart from the respray, the anti-lock brake system had not worked, one of the wheel arches had been damaged and repaired, a front headlight was not original, the lights did not dip, dashboard warning lights would flash on and off, and the clutch went at around 10,000 miles.
Judge Dunne said the car had been returned to the garage on a number of occasions after a litany of complaints but despite their best efforts Mark Dennis Opel had been unable to resolve them and they had kept re-emerging.
The company eventually offered Mr McCabe a new car.
Mr McCabe had told the court he declined the offer in August 2001 because he had lost all faith in Opel cars. He had kept the Astra garaged at his home since August 2001 because he felt it was not roadworthy enough for resale. He had since been driving a second-hand Ford Escort.
Judge Dunne said she felt there would have been no difficulty with the offer of a new car had it been made much earlier than a year after the purchase and only after a number of technical assessments had confirmed Mr McCabe's complaints.
She said Mr McCabe was entitled to the return of the purchase price of €20,320 and €334 agreed special damages and ordered that the car be returned to Mark Dennis Opel.