Abu Dhabi Court Orders Refund Over Sale of Defective, Water-damaged Vehicle

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court has ordered a man to refund Dh73,800 and pay an additional Dh3,000 in compensation after finding that he knowingly sold a defective vehicle.

According to court records, the buyer purchased the car after the seller assured him it was in excellent condition and had no history of defects or accidents. However, after using the vehicle, the buyer began experiencing serious and sudden malfunctions.

A subsequent inspection by an authorised agency revealed that the car had previously been submerged in rainwater and had been written off by an insurance company as a total loss.

The buyer then filed a lawsuit seeking to annul the sales contract, recover the full purchase price, and claim Dh7,000 in compensation for material and moral damages. He also requested 12 per cent annual legal interest from the date of filing until full payment, along with legal costs and fees.

In his claim, the buyer argued that the seller had deliberately concealed a critical fact about the vehicle’s condition, amounting to fraud and justifying the cancellation of the contract and compensation for the harm suffered.

The court found that the documents and expert report confirmed the presence of a hidden defect that could not have been detected easily without checking insurance records. It concluded that the seller had failed to disclose this defect at the time of sale.

Accordingly, the court ordered the contract to be rescinded, restoring both parties to their original positions, and directed the seller to refund the full purchase price of Dh73,800.

The court further held that the buyer had suffered both financial losses — including loss of use of the vehicle — and moral harm such as distress and regret. It awarded Dh1,500 for material damages and Dh1,500 for moral damages, bringing the total compensation to Dh3,000.

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