Court annuls car deal over altered chassis

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Tampering with a car’s chassis number has cost a Bahraini seller BD14,625 after a court annulled the deal, ruling the buyer could not register the vehicle in his Gulf country due to the altered markings.

The High Civil Court found that the vehicle’s identification had been interfered with, preventing its registration abroad and rendering it useless for road use.

The judge ordered the seller to return the full amount paid and to cover the cost of an expert’s report, along with legal fees.

Bank transfer

The buyer had paid BD14,625 by bank transfer after agreeing the price with the seller. The vehicle was then shipped overseas. There, it failed inspection.

The anti-counterfeiting division examined the chassis and spotted signs that the number had been tampered with.

The traffic directorate refused to process registration.

Knowledge

The buyer, who had no knowledge of any tampering, hired a technical expert.

On inspecting the car, the expert noted welding, sanding, and fresh paint around the area where the chassis number had been stamped.

He concluded that the car carried a concealed fault: a forged number that made the vehicle unfit for legal use.

Lawyer Sara Ali, acting for the buyer, told the court that her client was misled and that the car’s condition amounted to a breach of contract.

Contract

She relied on Article 141(a) of the Civil Code, which allows one side to cancel a contract if the other fails to do their part.

She also cited Article 415, which makes a seller liable for faults that reduce an item’s use or worth, even if they were unaware of the defect, and Article 425, which gives the buyer the right to cancel the sale or demand payment if the item doesn’t match what was promised.

The court said the buyer could no longer make use of the car as intended and that the tampering destroyed the purpose of the sale.

Inspection report

The inspection report from the Gulf state’s crime unit and the expert’s findings were enough to show the vehicle had been altered.

The judge ordered the buyer to return the car. The seller must repay the BD14,625 and cover BD250 in expert costs.

Both sides were told to pay their share of court fees.