Woman claimed for $100,000 'emotional harm' caused by $56,000 BMW purchase

A woman’s bid to get a $100,000 “emotional harm” payment from the company that sold her a $56,000 BMW didn’t work out, with her walking away from the dispute with just $600.

Yulin Zhang paid $56,000 for a 2014 BMW X5 from BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay Ltd in February 2022.

About six weeks after Zhang bought the car she had it serviced. The workshop that serviced the car said there were eight wheel bolts missing, which it replaced at a cost of $48. BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay said the wheel bolts weren’t missing when the car was delivered to her.

The workshop also identified that the vehicle’s right rear shock absorber was leaking, the windscreen was chipped and the front control arm bushes were faulty.

It also noted the car’s warrant of fitness was due to expire on June 30, 2022, meaning BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay had failed to ensure a warrant had been issued within one month before the date of delivery of the vehicle to the purchaser, as required.

When BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay learnt of this mistake they asked Continental Cars BMW to carry out a warrant of fitness inspection and complete any required repairs at its expense.

Continental Cars replaced a seat belt and a switch for the park brake and repaired the right shock absorber. BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay paid $3742 for this work.

Continental Cars also noted the chip in the windscreen and recommended the windscreen be replaced at a cost of $4167.47. BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay did not authorise that repair as it didn’t accept the chip had been present when the car was sold.

A year later, in May this year, Zhang took the car back to Continental Cars which she alleged found further faults that would cost $4065 to repair, plus excessive play in the car’s front lower control arms, which would need a $2287 repair in order to get a warrant of fitness.

In June this year Zhiang took BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay Ltd to the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal, seeking repair costs to enable the vehicle to pass a warrant of fitness inspection, plus $100,000 for “emotional harm”. She later applied to be able to reject the car.

BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay Ltd didn’t accept that Zhang was entitled to reject the vehicle or recover any amount for repairs or other damages.

The matter was heard by adjudicator Jason McHerron in June.

McHerron found that Zhang hadn’t established that the wheel bolt and windscreen defects were more likely than not to have been present at the time the vehicle was delivered to her.

He declined her application for the $4,065 repairs, given that the car had driven 15,000 km since she bought it, and it had 131,000 km on its odometer when she bought it.

But he did uphold Zhang’s claim in respect of the vehicle’s front, lower control arms. He noted she had used her insurance to replace these, and had only paid the excess of $600.

Zhang made various other claims, including that BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay Ltd falsified documents, and had acted deliberately untruthfully.

McHerron rejected these, along with Zhang’s claim for “emotional harm”, saying “there is no basis for any such damages to be awarded on the facts that have been established” and “in any event, it is doubtful that the Tribunal has jurisdiction to award general damages for stress under the Act”.

He ordered BMW Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay to pay Zhang $600. In all other respects her claim was dismissed.