Car dealers prosecuted for failing to reveal crash history of second-hand cars 

Charges relate to the sale of two cars, both of which had been previously crashed and classed as write-offs

Under consumer protection law, it is an offence for traders to give false, misleading or deceptive information about the history of a car. File picture

A car dealer has been sentenced to four months in prison while another has been fined after failing to divulge to customers cars they sold them had previously been written off after crashes.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) prosecuted Andrius Miliauskas and Brian Healy, of Lucan Auto Sales, Dublin, in Dublin District Court for misleading customers about the history of their second-hand cars.

Under consumer protection law, it is an offence for traders to give false, misleading or deceptive information about the history of a car.

Mr Miliauskas pleaded guilty to six offences and while Mr Healy pleaded guilty to four offences respectively on Wednesday morning.

Judge Anthony Halpin sentenced Mr Miliauskas to four months in prison. Mr Healy was fined €1,500 and ordered to pay costs of €3,567 to the CCPC and compensation of €1,994 to a customer.

Mr Miliauskas has appealed his sentence to the Circuit Court.

According to the CCPC, the charges related to the sale of two cars.

The first involved a 161 Ford Focus. This car was crashed in March 2023 and was classed as a write-off. It was subsequently sold as salvage and then to Lucan Auto Sales, which sold it to a customer in June 2023 for €11,500.

“The dealers gave the buyer misleading information regarding the car’s crash history,” the CCPC said.

The second instance involved a 142 Audi A5, which was also crashed and written off in the UK in 2017. It was sold by Lucan Auto Sales for €14,000 in June 2024 without disclosing its crash history.

“When the consumer subsequently discovered it had been crashed and returned the car to the dealer, it was almost immediately readvertised again without disclosing its crash history,” the CCPC said.

The consumers in both incidents reported their experiences to the CCPC ,which opened an investigation.

The CCPC prosecuted Mr Healy, who is the owner of Lucan Auto Sales, saying he had knowingly overseen the sale of vehicles to consumers who had been provided with misleading information on the history of said vehicles.

Mr Miliauskas was prosecuted after the investigation established he had sold a vehicle to a consumer and, during that transaction, provided the consumer with misleading information about the car’s history.

“Mr Miliauskas had previously been investigated by the CCPC and, in 2023, was convicted of misleading a consumer in relation to the crash history of a car. That conviction was subsequently upheld in the circuit court,” the CCPC said..

Chair of the CCPC Brian McHugh said: “Car traders have a legal obligation not to mislead buyers about a car’s history and condition”.

“Misleading information can put the buyer and all other road users in danger.”