UAE: Tampering with odometer before selling car costs man Dh29,000 in court

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court  has annulled the sale of a used vehicle and ordered the seller to refund Dh24,000 to the buyer, along with Dh5,000 in damages, after determining that the seller had manipulated the car’s odometer and misled the buyer about its true condition, 24.ae news portal reported. 

According to court documents, the buyer purchased the vehicle in good faith after the seller advertised it on social media, claiming it had been been driven only over 120,000 kilometers. 

Relying on that information, the buyer paid the agreed price of Dh24,000 and took possession of the car.

However, a subsequent official inspection revealed that the odometer reading had been tampered with and that the vehicle had traveled significantly more than the advertised distance. 

The court found this to constitute fraud and deliberate concealment of defects intended to mislead the buyer about the car’s actual state.

The buyer filed a lawsuit seeking to void the contract, recover the purchase price, and obtain compensation for material losses and emotional distress. 

The seller denied the accusations but failed to provide evidence contradicting the technical report.

The court ruled that the buyer had suffered financial harm, including inspection costs and related expenses, as well as emotional harm stemming from the deception. 

It ordered the sale contract revoked, the vehicle returned to the seller, and the seller to bear all fees, expenses and legal costs.