U.K. Dealer Sells 'Death Trap' Twice, Faces Jail Time

The United States doesn't have a monopoly on shady car dealerships.

There's a dealer -- 62-year-old Steven Hickman -- in the West Midlands, United Kingdom, who was convicted of selling an "unroadworthy" Subaru Forester (the model year is unclear) to a customer last March. He sold the car through his store, Shelby's of Netherton.

He then apparently sold the same car a month later, despite not having fixed any of the car's problems. He was supposed to refund 3,500 pounds to the first customer.

Hickman has admitted to "engaging in a misleading commercial practice and engaging in a commercial practice which contravened the requirements of professional diligence" according to Car Dealer Magazine.

District Judge Graham Wilkinson was quoted as saying Hickman was ‘willing to sell a death trap’. The judge also said jail was likely -- or as the Brits call it, a "custodial sentence."

When Hickman sold the car a second time, the customer paid 4,300 pounds.

The issues the vehicle had included a rusty suspension that failed while the second customer was driving the car, shortly after buying it.

An investigative agency was called in -- for the second time -- and noticed that paint had been used to attempt to disguise the rust.

Hickman also "admitted failing to act with due care when supplying a product, and permitting another to use a motor vehicle when its use involved a danger of injury," according to Car Dealer.

A local politician said "This is a shocking case. Hickman had already been brought before the courts in relation to this car and was left under no illusions that it was dangerous. He should have scrapped it or repaired it properly, but instead he patched it up and sold it on again, this time for even more, while knowing it was, as the judge described it, a potential death trap. Dudley Trading Standards will not hesitate to investigate complaints where consumers have been misled or where they have been sold a dangerous vehicle."

Hickman will be sentenced in Wolverhampton Crown Court on October 23rd.

[Image: RossHelen/Shutterstock.com]

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