Odometer tampering and engine failure leave woman with undrivable $17,000 car as car yard liquidates

A woman whose car had complete engine failure despite believing it had only done 50,000km found the odometer had been tampered with and it had done close to 184,000km.

Auckland woman Freya Fu said she is now $17,000 out of pocket and has to push her child to daycare for an hour each day because the company that sold her the car was in liquidation.

Fu bought the 2012 Subaru XV SUV from 465 Motors LTD in Penrose, Auckland on October 7, 2022.

Less than a year later - and covering only 6000km - the car had significant engine and air conditioning issues.

“We took it to the mechanics, and they confirmed the engine had suffered irreversible damage and needed replacement, which was not normal for a car with low mileage, which was 56,500km on the odometer when I purchased it,” Fu said.

After engine issues the woman discovered her $17,000 car had done 187,000km - not the 50,000km on the odometer.

“I began to doubt the accuracy of the vehicle’s mileage and obtained the recorded mileage for this vehicle from Subaru in Singapore.”

Fu found when the vehicle was last serviced in August 2021 the mileage was already 183,993km.

“This evidence clearly shows that the company sold me a vehicle with a tampered mileage record,” Fu said.

Fu spoke to the owner of 465 Motors Ltd, sent her evidence of the tampered odometer, and said she was promised a refund.

Shortly after she was told the business was in liquidation.

“I gave her my bank account details but nothing came through and then I was told the business was in liquidation.

“From then all of my calls and emails have gone unanswered.”

Information on the Companies Office website shows the business was put into liquidation on October 30, 2023.

Liquidator Paul Vlasic from Rogers Reidy said there were no funds available in the company’s current accounts.

Vlasic confirmed a shareholder of 465 Motors put the business into voluntary liquidation.

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Fu said the whole situation was “incredibly upsetting”. She was stuck at home without a car to run errands, do groceries, and take her 1-year-old to daycare.

“I have to walk in the pushchair in all sorts of weather for half an hour there and half an hour back and then I am stuck at home for the rest of the day.

“This was supposed to be a good family car that we were told had done low kilometres.”

Fu threatened to take 465 Motors Ltd to the Motor Vehicles Disputes Tribunal but was told they could not take the case because the company was in liquidation.

The same company has already been taken to the MVDT for selling a car that had its odometer tampered with.

In May 2022 Auckland woman Emma Burke bought a Volkswagon Beetle for $12,995. The vehicle’s odometer read 45,600km.

When several faults started appearing Burke obtained a report from Volkswagen in Singapore and found the last odometer reading in 2021 the car was already at 129,905km.

The MVDT found that while 465 Motors Ltd didn’t know about the tampering, the “absence of knowledge provides no defence”.

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The tribunal found that the car sales company had engaged in misleading conduct, in breach of the Fair Trading Act, and ordered the company refund the cost of the vehicle.

“The only conclusion I can therefore reach is that someone in Singapore has tampered with the vehicle’s odometer before it was sold to 465 Motors,” the tribunal said.

Abbey Damen from Consumer NZ said things got tricky when a company filed for liquidation.

“Unfortunately, if the company has gone into liquidation, it’s bad news for customers – there’s not much you can do,” Damen said.

However, because Fu paid for the car using her credit card there was a glimmer of hope.

“If the purchaser used a credit or debit card to purchase the car, they could try talking to their bank about getting a chargeback. They should also contact the liquidator to register a claim,” Damen said.

This week Fu was able to get a $1000 chargeback from ANZ and has applied to have the remaining $16,000 returned.

The Herald left a message for the director of 465 Motors Ltd at their home on Auckland’s North Shore but she has not responded to a request for an interview.

Fu said she wanted to share her story so others were not in the same situation as her.

“More needs to be done to stop them so they can not just file for bankruptcy and then open a new business and do this again to people who have worked hard to buy a car.

“These companies know what they are doing and it is terrible.”

Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with more than 20 years experience in New Zealand newsrooms. She has covered everything from crime and social issues to the property market and has a current focus on consumer affairs.