This is what dreams are made of, getting your other half to agree to your luxury rare car purchase. But dreams can quickly turn into nightmares when the deal doesn’t last, as one auction winner found out.
In the Lloyds car auction held in September 2021, a 2017 HSV GTS-R W1 has become a struggle. But, it’s not just any GTS R W1, it’s a one-off build finished in XU3 Yellah for HSV’s VIP customers.
According to the Courier Mail, the winner of the auction, Miss Cindy Mikhael, gave permission for her husband to bid in the auction. Ms Mikhael’s husband then bid up to $425,000 and was the successful bidder in the auction.
Good news, right? Umm, not enough.
The owner of the car is Gold Coast property developer Tony Lenan, and according to the Courier Mail, Mr Lenan’s company Jonata Investments Pty Ltd never received payment for the car.
Jonata Investments gave Ms Mikhael six months to pay for the unique car before it got stroppy and involved the courts.
This particular GTS-R W1 is finished in XU3 Yellah, the color originally featured on the VS GTS-R. It is not available from the factory in that color and is only offered to HSV VIP customers. The same customer also has in the auction another custom order, one of four 2017 HSV Maloo GTS-R W1 utes, along with a 1996 VS GTS-R with delivery miles.
Court documents show that Ms Mikhael’s husband bid at the auction with her permission, but it is not clear why the couple thought it was okay not to pay for the car after winning.
The District Court in Southport originally heard the case brought by Jonata Investments, according to the Courier Mail, and agreed that payment should have been made within four days of winning the original auction and that the requirement for payment still remained – this decision was made without Cikgu Mikhael defending the case.
Not satisfied with the decision, Ms. Mikhael successfully appealed the decision in October last year, this time she was represented by a lawyer, hoping for a different result.
According to the Courier Mail, the court again ruled in favor of Jonata Investment, ordering Ms Mikhael to pay for her husband’s new wheels.
Judge Holliday, according to the Courier Mail, said, “this is the clearest case.”
“The defendant has no real prospect of defending the plaintiff’s claim and there is no need for a trial of the claim.”
The judge reiterated the terms and conditions that bidders agreed to when participating in the online auction and that they must pay $448,241, which is the amount of the original winning bid, plus fees.
So the moral of the story? Double and triple check with your other half when agreeing to buy a rare car at an online auction.