Dodgy car dealer Khalid Hammadi, 52, fined for selling used cars without a licence

A teenager saved up to buy her first car, but it burst into flames 15 minutes into her drive home. Now, the man that sold it to her has faced court.

A man who sold a young woman a car that burst into flames on a major highway just 15 minutes after she bought it has been fined thousands of dollars.

In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday morning 52-year-old Khalid Abdul Kareem Hammadi, of Clovelly Park, was fined following action by the consumer watchdog, Consumer and Business Services.

The court heard that over about eight months, Hammadi had sold seven second-hand cars for between $1000 and $8000.

It comes after a teenager who purchased a vehicle from Hammadi in 2023, after saving up for her first car, was left $5000 out of pocket when the second-hand Mazda burst into flames on the Salisbury Highway - 15 minutes after she picked it up.

“It was just so scary, it was genuinely a life-threatening situation,” the young woman said at the time of the fire.

“I’ve been saving up my money for years to buy the car.”

A teenager leapt from her car moments before it burst into flames on the Salisbury Highway. Picture: 7 NEWS

She had only had the second-hand Mazda for 15 minutes. Picture: 7 NEWS

She also said the seller had told her the car was “good, the engine is good, everything is fine”.

Under state law, it is illegal for anyone who sells or offers for sale more than four second-hand vehicles over the space of a year without a licence - a licence which protects buyers with statutory warranty and a mandatory two-day cooling off period.

Those protections, however, are not in place when vehicles are bought privately.

On Thursday, the court heard Hammadi ought to have been aware of the licencing requirement, having previously held a second-hand vehicle dealer’s licence.

An example of the advertisements of the second-hand vehicles. Picture: Supplied

Magistrate John Clover fined Hammadi $2000, but indicated that fine would have been higher if it weren’t for his poor financial circumstances.

Consumer and Business Affairs Minister Andrea Michaels said people turned to private sales as a way to save money.

“Unfortunately, there are people out there who will try and capitalise on this by pretending to be selling privately when they are, in fact, dealing in used cars,” she said.

“Always do your due diligence – whether buying privately or from a dealer – and get the car inspected to ensure you’re getting what you paid for.

“Be aware of the risks that come with buying privately, and the warranty protections you get when buying from a licensed dealer.”

Originally published as Dodgy car dealer Khalid Hammadi, 52, fined for selling used cars without a licence