Those are the dreams made up of getting your other half to agree to buy your expensive rare car. But dreams can quickly turn into nightmares when that deal isn’t done, as one auction winner has discovered.
In a Lloyds car auction held in September 2021, a 2017 HSV GTS-R W1 ready to take. However, it’s not just any GTS R W1, it’s a one-off build finished in XU3 Yellah for an HSV VIP customer.
According to Courier Mail, the winner of the auction, Cindy Michael, gave her husband permission to participate in the auction. Ms. Michael’s husband then bid up to $425,000 and was a successful bidder in the auction.
Great news, right? Um, not really.
The vehicle’s owner is Tony Lenan, a Gold Coast property developer, and according to Courier Mail, Mr. Lenan’s Jonata Investments Pty Ltd has never received payment for the vehicle.
Jonata Investments gave Miss Michael six months to pay for the one-of-a-kind car before it started going downhill and entangled the court.
This particular GTS-R W1 is finished in XU3 Yellah, a color featured originally on the VS GTS-R. It is not available from the factory in that color, though, and is only offered to VIP HSV customers. The same customer also has another custom order in the auction, one of four HSV Maloo GTS-R W1 2017plus a 1996 VS GTS-R with delivery miles.
Court documents show that Ms. Michael’s husband entered the auction with her permission, but it is unclear why the couple thought it would be okay to simply not pay for the car. after winning.
The district court in Southport initially heard Jonata Investments’ case, according to the Courier Mail, and agreed that the payment should have been made within four days of winning the original auction and demanded payment. still in effect – the decision was made without Ms. Michael defending the case.
Dissatisfied with that decision, Ms Michael successfully appealed the ruling last October, this time being represented by a lawyer, hoping for a different outcome.
According to Courier Mail, the court once again ruled in favor of Jonata Investment, ordering Ms Michael to pay for her husband’s new wheels.
Judge Holliday, according to the Courier Mail, said, “this is the most obvious case.”
“The respondent has no real prospect to defend the claimant’s claim and there is no need to hear the claim.”
The judge reiterated the terms and conditions that the bidders had agreed to when participating in the online auction and that they pay $448,241, which is the initial winnings, plus fees.
So the moral of the story? Double-check with your partner when agreeing to buy a rare car in an online auction.
