Aria Motors ordered to refund tradie who bought submerged ute

A Brisbane car dealership has been ordered to refund the price of a ute that was sold after it had been submerged in water.

A Brisbane car dealership has been ordered to refund a customer who was sold a ute that had been submerged in water.

Cairns electrician Baden Jenkins took Aria Motors Pty Ltd to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal after his Toyota HiLux failed a safety inspection days after he purchased it from the Darra dealership last July.

The approved inspection station examiner found the ute had been submerged to at least the fuel tank where 30mm of dried dirt was observed, the tribunal heard.

Aria Motors director Hooman Fartash

Mr Jenkins purchased the used 2012 two-wheel-drive ute on July 22 flying down to pick it up two days later.

He told the tribunal he looked at the vehicle – which had been advertised as “well looked after” – briefly however Aria Motors director Hooman Fartash said Mr Jenkins “looked at it crazy”.

On the 10-hour drive home the horn stopped working and after removing the fuse box panel, Mr Jenkins “saw mud, sand, sticks and water concealed within the body of the vehicle”.

In a safety inspection on July 26, the vehicle was found to have “pools of water still sitting on the floor” under the carpet, the tribunal heard.

Hooman Fartash

The safety examiner found rust had started on several components and wiring inside the ute had been compromised.

“It appears the vehicle has been detailed to a point of disguising the water intrusion,” the examiner’s report alleged.

The examiner failed the vehicle for a broken horn, wheels that were not of an approved type and construction, and tyre load ratings that were less than the minimum specified by the manufacturer.

Aria Motors said it was prepared to repair the horn and replace the tyres under warranty, but otherwise asked the tribunal to dismiss Mr Jenkins’ application on the basis the ute was purchased “as is”, that it was not defective but in good condition for its age, and Mr Jenkins had a “change of mind”.

In a decision published Friday tribunal member Michelle Lember said Mr Fartash was ill-equipped for the hearing and did not present as a credible witness.

During the tribunal hearing he described the ute as a four-wheel drive when it was only a two-wheel-drive, and then insisted a two-wheel drive vehicle can “go anywhere” and “do anything” a 4x4 can.

He gave an example of a Hyundai Getz that can be taken on the beach.

“This submission was, respectfully, a baseless nonsense,” Ms Lember said.

Mr Fartash said it would have been written off if it had ever been submerged and claimed any evidence of submersion was consistent with Mr Jenkins having submerged it on his drive home.

He told the tribunal he “can’t control how someone else has driven it” and admitted that he did not know the ute’s history when he said it was “well looked after”.

Mr Jenkins said he purchased this vehicle as a work ute, did not take it off-road on the drive home and did not submerge it.

Ms Lember said she had no reason to disbelieve him.

She found the examiner’s report evidence of the condition of the vehicle when it was sold by Aria Motors to Mr Jenkins.

“I am satisfied that the defects were latent and concealed from the applicant and, therefore, not reasonably obvious from his visual inspection of the vehicle,” she said.

Ms Lember awarded Mr Jenkins a full refund of $22,990 for the ute, along with the cost of the safety inspection fee, REVS check and a tank of petrol.