Dealer ordered to pay back $38,000 for Hilux rebuilt using stolen engine

A Hamilton car dealer has been ordered to pay back $38,000 to a vehicle purchaser, but the business appears to have gone, and the director unable to be reached. Photo / Belinda Feek

Jeremy Jane drove his near-new $38,000 Toyota Hilux for almost 18 months before discovering it had been built using parts, including a stolen engine, from other vehicles.

He bought the vehicle in October 2020 from Vehicle Imports Direct, then learned in March this year it was a composite after he got a letter from Waka Kotahi telling him it was concerned that the vehicle may have safety issues.

The director of Vehicle Imports, Stephen Milo told the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal at a hearing in July that he was unaware of any damage or repairs to the vehicle and no flags were present when he checked the vehicle on a Motor Web information report.

A 2018 Toyota Hilux similar to the one bought by Jeremy Jane, who then found it had been rebuilt using parts from multiple vehicles, including a stolen engine. Photo / Matthew Hansen NZ Herald

He said the vehicle was in "very good order", with no signs of damage when supplied.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said the vehicle was previously "involved in an incident and required substantial repairs as a result".

The Hilux, had as it turned out, undergone a process sometimes known as "rebirthing".

The chassis was original but showed signs it had been involved in an accident.

Waka Kotahi found the engine number related to a white 2017 Toyota Hilux with a different registration number, which it said had been stolen and not recovered.

The cab fitted to the vehicle was not original, but Waka Kotahi could not say with complete certainty where it had come from, which brought into question the quality of the vehicle's airbags, seatbelts and other components fitted to the cab.

The agency told Jane the vehicle posed a "serious safety risk", revoked its warrant of fitness and placed an immediate safety flag on it.

Jane then lodged a claim with the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal, which said in a decision released this month that he was entitled to a full refund of the $38,000 but not the losses he claimed to have incurred by having to hire a vehicle when the Toyota was forced off the road.

Vehicle Imports Direct questioned the appropriateness of a full refund, given that Jane had owned the vehicle for about 17 months and had driven it nearly 36,000km.

Milo told the tribunal that the vehicle was sold to Jane in October 2020 on behalf of another company, ALM Group Ltd, also a registered motor vehicle trader.

Jane paid $38,000 to Vehicle Imports Direct which was then invoiced by ALM Group on the same day for $36,000.

The tribunal said AML had no direct liability to Jane because it did not supply the vehicle to him.

Jane did not report any problems or concerns about the vehicle's history, until he got the letter from Waka Kotahi, advising him to take it to a light vehicle repair specialist certifier.

The extent and nature of the problems with the vehicle were then identified, including that it was involved in an accident about a year before Jane bought it.

In that accident, the vehicle rolled twice, which caused extensive damage to its cab.

The inspection confirmed that the Hilux was fitted with a vehicle ID tag that showed the number plate and chassis matched, but Waka Kotahi was concerned about a list of things which did not add up.

There were signs the cab had come from another vehicle which was either imported used or deregistered at some point in New Zealand and had gone through the used light vehicle entry certification process, which only applied to a used imported vehicle or one that had been deregistered.

Yet the Hilux Jane bought was not a used imported vehicle, and neither had it been deregistered.

The inspection also found the seatbelts fitted in the cab were manufactured in 2017, yet the number plate on the Hilux Jane bought indicated it was built in April 2018.

Waka Kotahi concluded that the vehicle bought by Jane appeared to have been pieced together using multiple vehicles.

"While the chassis is original, the cab and drive train are not.

"The engine has been positively confirmed as belonging to a stolen vehicle and the cab shows absolutely no evidence of any repairs, despite the damage sustained in the accident on October 18, 2019," the tribunal said.

It said the primary remedy available to a consumer where a vehicle failed to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality allowed the consumer to require the supplier to remedy the failure within a reasonable time.

However, the consumer may reject the vehicle if a substantial failure was established.

Jane notified Vehicle Imports Direct that he wanted to reject his vehicle on the same day that he found out the result of the Waka Kotahi investigation.

The tribunal upheld his claim and instructed reimbursement of the $38,000 and that the vehicle was to be returned to the seller.

But whether he got his money back last month, as ordered, is unknown.

Vehicle Imports Direct Ltd appears to no longer exist. Its phones are disconnected and its website is down. Open Justice visited the premises of the Hamilton car yard and found all branding and signage removed.

Open Justice also visited the home of director Stephen Milo in an effort to seek comment from him.

Jane has also proved elusive, despite efforts to reach him for comment.