Andrew Nanku Prasad, 44, spared jail after winding back odometers and selling cars for a profit

A dodgy car seller who tampered with the odometers of four different cars he bought at auction – before selling them for a profit – has faced court.

A dodgy car salesman who made a $45k profit by winding back the odometers of four different vehicles he bought at auction has avoided jail time.

Andrew Nanku Prasad, 39, appeared in the Port Adelaide Magistrates court on Wednesday in front of Mark Semmens, who sentenced the Fulham Gardens man to five months and 19 days imprisonment – suspended upon entering a 12 month good behaviour bond.

Mr Semmens also ordered Mr Prasad to pay just over $10k in fines, noting he didn’t want to “crush” the father of two.

“You made a profit of about $45k which you wasted on gambling and alcohol – I accept that those are the reasons behind your offending and you do not shy away from those issues,” Mr Semmens said.

“Your life was interrupted by a vicious home invasion – a robbery in your early twenties with armed people in your house that affected your mental health significantly.

“Alcohol is a serious problem for you – you’ve been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver (and) that has been a difficulty for you in the past.”

Mr Prasad sold four used cars without a licence and wound the odometers back on all of them – in some instances even wiping hundreds of thousands of kilometres off their usage before selling three of the vehicles for a significant profit. One vehicle was sold at a loss.

Andrew Nanku Prasad made a $45k profit by winding back the odometers of four different vehicles.

Andrew Nanku Prasad made a $45k profit by winding back the odometers of four different vehicles.

In one instance, he bought a Holden Caprice with an odometer reading of 280,335km for about $12.5k, wound the odometer to about 65,000km and put it up for sale at $35k.

He also wound the odometer of a Holden Calais from 306,000km to just 29,000km, before selling it for a profit of $18,354.

Andrea Michaels MP said odometer tampering was “a disgraceful practice”.

“It’s callous, calculated behaviour aimed at exploiting people at a time when cost of living pressures are having a significant impact on household budgets,” Ms Michaels said.

“The Malinauskas Government is taking a tough stance against offenders, with laws currently before state parliament that would significantly increase the penalties available to authorities to crack down on this behaviour.

“I’m pleased to see Consumer and Business Services continue to tackle this practice head on, and thank those involved in this investigation for their work in bringing this individual to justice.”

Mr Prasad was fined a total of $10,450 – including $4,200 for odometer tampering, $4,200 for making false and misleading statements, and $2450 for unlicensed dealing.

He was also ordered to pay compensation of $8,781.09 to cover the costs of repairs to one vehicle after the buyer discovered both tyres and the windscreen weren’t roadworthy.