Man fined for illegally selling motor vehicles

A Morrinsville man has been fined for illegally selling motor vehicles, in circumstances officials say are on the rise due to online car trading.

The Registrar of Motor Vehicle Traders at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment prosecuted the 24-year-old man last Wednesday for operating a motor vehicle trading business without being registered.

He was fined $4500 in the Morrinsville District Court after pleading guilty to selling 11 vehicles between February last year and January this year.

Under the Motor Vehicles Sales Act 2003, people can legally sell six vehicles in a 12-month period without being registered as a motor vehicle trader.

Registry Integrity and Enforcement team leader Karla Flood said the number of unregistered motor vehicle traders was increasing, due to a change in trader behaviour towards online markets.

"However, prosecutions such as this one act as a deterrent. Unregistered motor vehicle traders are not subject to the checks that apply to those who are registered and consumers may have less protection when something goes wrong,'' she said.

The Registrar of Motor Vehicle Traders has investigated 332 unregistered motor vehicle traders since July 1, last year. Of those, 79 cases remained under investigation and 13 were before the courts.