Buyer awarded compensation after $80k Ford found to be ‘two cars joined together’

A classic car enthusiast who paid $80,000 for a 68-year-old Ford later learned it had been modified so much it was essentially two cars joined together, with “donor parts” from a Holden.

In his quest to resolve a five-year dispute over the purchase, Gary James Brown endured a list of challenges, including a potentially fatal accident when he was hit by a car while tracking down a certifier.

Now the business that sold Brown the 1956 Ford F-100 has had to pay him $77,000 after the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal found he’d been misled over the deal.

At the heart of the dispute was a list of faults Brown found after he bought the vehicle, and the discovery that NZTA Waka Kotahi had issued a “ban flag” against it to prevent a warrant of fitness (WoF) from being issued.

A specialist certifier found the vehicle had been “significantly modified”, to the degree it was essentially two vehicles joined together and that the “donor parts” on the Ford were from an HQ Holden.

He also said the vehicle in its current condition was not safe.

But the man who sold the vehicle in May 2019 told NZME he stood by the actions of his business to try to help throughout the five-year process, and even the car itself.

“Still, to this day, we believe the vehicle is an excellent vehicle,” said Sergy Minenko, director of Arrow Trading Ltd (ATL).

NZME understands the firm, which traded as Arrow Toys, is no longer trading.

Minenko said in his submission to the tribunal that the Ford was sold to Brown in a roadworthy and legal condition with a current warrant of fitness and registration.

He claimed the issues had arisen during Brown’s ownership.

In a decision released in June, the tribunal found Brown was misled and had the right to reject the vehicle because of its defects but lost that right by not acting soon enough.

Resolution was delayed by several factors, including the serious accident that happened while Brown was visiting a vehicle certifier in Rotorua. He was hit by a car as he was walking along a road, which left him with a head injury and several broken bones, the tribunal said.

The purchase deal

Brown purchased the Ford F-100 in May 2019, in exchange for two of his vehicles worth $40,000 each.

He claimed the Ford was advertised as being “certified for all modifications”, but soon discovered a “number of serious faults” that required recertification for modifications he claimed had not been certified.

The vehicle was placed in storage and around August 2020, Brown contacted ATL to say he had a tax bill to pay and asked if the firm would buy the vehicle back from him for $75,000. However, Minenko declined.

In September 2020 Brown notified ATL that the vehicle had been sold but that the passenger and rear-window rubber seals needed to be repaired, which ATL agreed to do.

Brown then tried to get a WoF for the vehicle so he could complete the sale, but the garage in South Auckland he took it to said it could not issue a warrant because it could not locate a chassis number on the engine.

At this time, Brown learned the vehicle did not have a fuel-injected engine but a carburetted one.

He asked ATL about the discrepancy and alerted it to the lack of a chassis number.

ATL suggested Brown take the vehicle to a Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ) station, or contact “Kevin”, who had previously supplied a WoF for the vehicle and who had apparently been able to locate the chassis number.

In October 2020, Brown emailed ATL asking it to explain why the Low Volume Vehicle (LVV) certification plate in the engine bay belonged to another vehicle and that he would need to apply to NZTA for an LVV plate to be fixed to the chassis.

The dealer who sold the classic Ford said he still stands by it being an "excellent car". Photo / 123rf

Brown produced as evidence a letter from NZTA from November 2020 that showed a ban flag had then been placed against the vehicle to prevent a WoF from being issued.

It said that the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and other identifiers did not match the New Zealand records for this vehicle.

NZTA said the ban flag would be removed once the vehicle’s identity had been confirmed as correct, which required Brown to take it to a transport services delivery agent, where an entry certifier would inspect it.

After further correspondence with ATL, Brown “rejected” the vehicle in November 2020, which prompted a response from ATL’s lawyer.

The tribunal said ATL was willing to inspect the vehicle but that did not happen.

In January 2021, Brown took the vehicle back to VTNZ, which confirmed it could not locate the chassis number.

‘Untouchable’ vehicle

In July of that year, NZTA advised Brown that he had conditional approval to use “alternative documents” for the vehicle on a set of conditions including further verification.

Delays in getting the vehicle compliant were linked to the difficulty Brown had in working out how to achieve compliance, plus he had been out of the country.

His experience was that nobody wanted to “touch” the vehicle and that certifiers were busy.

Brown’s accident happened around this time.

He eventually found a specialist LVV certifier last year, who discovered the Holden “donor parts”.

His inspection discovered 22 items “requiring rectification”, and that certain modifications should have been certified at the time they were made.

He was unable to find a chassis number on the vehicle.

After the hearing, ATL was allowed to conduct an investigation and inspection of the vehicle to ascertain the cost to rectify the vehicle and put it in a warrantable standard.

The figure came to just over $10,000, whereas Brown had been quoted a “loose figure” of around $50,000 to get the vehicle up to scratch.

The tribunal agreed ATL had downplayed the estimated cost and that its conduct was the effective cause of the loss incurred by Brown.

It ordered that the sale agreement be declared void and awarded compensation of $77,000, which was the purchase price less $3000 to reflect the lack of servicing in the time Brown had owned the vehicle.

Minenko confirmed to NZME that the money had been paid and the vehicle had been collected, as per the order.

Brown could not be reached for comment.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.