Six car dealers in the lower North Island have paid a total of $10,940 in fines and court costs after failing to display Supplier Information Notices or SIN cards on used cars for sale.

The Commission noted the missing SIN cards when it visited car yards throughout the lower North Island in late 2006.

SIN cards give buyers vital information about a car's make, model, year of manufacture, mileage and sale price, and must be displayed on any used car for sale by a dealer.

"Used car dealers must display SIN cards, end of story," says Commerce Commission Acting Director of Fair Trading Graham Gill.

"The cards provide vital information to buyers and allow them to shop around and compare vehicles."

"The Commission will continue to visit car yards up and down the country - and online - to make sure that dealers are displaying the cards correctly," says Mr Gill.

The $10,940 paid by dealers in the latest round of prosecutions includes:

  • $1,730 paid by Kobes Cars Ltd, Levin: 8 charges, Levin District Court, 28 June. Total fines $1,600 plus court costs of $130.
  • $2,930 paid by Stuart Cheyne Autos Ltd, Napier: 14 charges, Napier District Court, 9 May. Total fines $2,800 plus court costs of $130.
  • $990 paid by Marple investments Ltd (Adelaide Motors), Newtown, Wellington : 3 charges, Wellington District Court, 23 May, Total fines $600 plus court costs on each charge of $130.
  • $530 paid by McKenzie Motors Ltd (Carterton Auto Court): 4 charges, Masterton District Court, 11 June. Total fines $400 on one charge, convicted and discharged on the rest. Paid court costs of $130.
  • $1,130 paid by John Dudley Motors Limited, Newtown, Wellington: 4 charges, Wellington District Court, 12 June. Total fines $1,000 plus court costs of $130.
  • $3,630 paid by Sunrise Motor Group Ltd: 11 charges, Porirua District Court, 22nd June. Total fines $2,200 plus $130 court costs on each charge.

Background

January 2007: The Commission released details of six car dealers who had been fined for failing to display SIN cards: Auto Kingdom Co. Ltd of Hamilton fined $1,000; Paragon Motors Ltd of Auckland fined $2000; Urban Enhancements Ltd, trading as Urban Wholesale of Auckland, fined $1,200; Robmac Holdings Ltd, trading as Car Court Fairy Springs, of Rotorua fined $1,400; J's Cars Ltd of Hamilton fined $3,000; Trademark Autos Ltd of Te Awamutu fined $800.

December 2006: Harpers' For Cars Ltd pleaded guilty to 16 breaches of the Fair Trading Act by failing to supply SIN cards with the cars it sold on TradeMe. The company was fined $6400.

September 2006: Lincoln Darren, of Mike Darren Motors, was fined $3,000 in the Timaru District Court for failing to display a Supplier Information Notice on a BMW vehicle. He was also fined $5,000 for misrepresenting the vehicle's history by ticking the "no" box on the Supplier Information Notice when it asked whether the car had been imported as damaged.

May 2006: Andrew Holden Banks, a director of AHB Enterprises Limited trading as Banks Autos, was fined over $8,500 in the Christchurch District Court for lying about the age of cars he was selling and failing to provide purchasers with Supplier Information Notice (SIN) cards. He also agreed to pay over $1,400 in reparations to people who had bought cars from him and had to repair faults.

September 2005: Ladies Mile Cars Limited and its director, Mr Sam Alsabiry, fined $3,140 in the Auckland District Court for failing to attach SIN cards to used motor vehicles he sold. The trader also had not provided the cards to purchasers. He created false paperwork to try and convince investigators that purchasers had received and signed a copy of the SIN card. He sent his customers SIN cards created after the fact, and backdated forms for them to sign.