QUESTION OF WARRANTY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18173, 19 August 1922, Page 11

QUESTION OF WARRANTY.

♦ SALE OF A MOTOR-CAR. CLAIM AND COUNTER-CLAIM. A claim for £400 for alleged breach of warranty in connection with the aale of a motor-car, £106 special damages, and £50 general damages, was brought by William Richard Menhennet and Dudley Colin Cheesman, motor engineers, Patea (Mr. Leary), against John Burns and Co., Ltd., merchants, Auckland (Mr. Holmden and Mr. Vallance), was commenced in the Supreme Court yesterday before Mr. Justice Herdman and a jury. A counterclaim for £400 on promissory notes was admitted. Mr. Leary said this car had been represented to plaintiffs in glowing terms by the defendants' representative, Mr. McKenny, who said his firm wanted to estab. lish agents for the car in the Taranaki district. He also said: that the first car sent was an exhibition car, and up-to-date in every detail. When it was received by plaintiffs, however, the paint and nickel plating was peeling off, it was minus certain accessories, and the upholstering was torn. William Richard Menhennet gave evidence to the effect that he agreed to buv the car for £800. He asked McKenny if that particular type of car would climb an average Taranaki hill on top gear, and he replied that it was specially built to I meet New Zealand conditions. He would guarantee it would climb any fair grade hill on top gear. On the question of petrol consumption. Mr. McKenny said tha car ran 25 miles to. the gallon, but it did not work out at more than 20 miles, and on some back roads it fell to 18 miles an hour. Plaintiff was cross-examined at some length by Mr. Holmden. Thomas Kent, engineer, of Patea, said he had been out in the car on several occasions, when it was being used for demonstration purposes. He considered it a poor hill-chmber. He considered that the outside retail price of the car when it arrived at Patea was £500. For the defence, Mr. Holmden said that defendants took 19 or 20 of the cars in question, and had disposed of all of them except one, and this was the first trouble they had had. Mr. McKenny, the sales manager, would say that he did not give any guarantee whatever. Cheesman had been shown the car in Auckland, and it was in response to a letter asking for the agency of this and another make of car that McKenny went to Patea and sold the car. Regarding the nickel plating on the radiator shell, counsel said this had been properly done by a firm which was recognised to be one of the best in Auckland. Oifford M c Kenny, sales manager of the motor-car department of the defendant firm, said he told plaintiffs that the cars sold by defendants had run various mileage to the gallon. He mentioned that a purchaser at Tauranga had written saying that his car had run 25 miles to the gallon. Hill-climbing was never mentioned during witness' visit. Witness was in Taranaki in November, when Cheesman had seemed proud of the car, He showed them a gash in the upholstering, and said it had been done on the train. He said nothing about the nickel plating. The case was , adjourned till Monday morning.