From the people’s court in the Byron Y. Appleton Honorary Courtroom in Santa Monica.
Buying a 15-year-old car may seem like a risk to some people, but not to Los Angeles woman Laura Patterson.
Patterson won a $5,000 judgment last week against Michael Marks, owner of Marina Auto Sales in Venice, because of mechanical problems with the 1986 Toyota Celica she bought in June 2001.
Though the car cost only $3,900, Patterson sued for the maximum small claims amount of $5,000, saying she spent over $2,600 in repairs to the faulty car, which frequently caused her to miss work or go without wheels.
“The car was not mechanically fit to drive,” Patterson told the court. “The problems went on, monthly, for at least a year.”
Because of a separate lawsuit against her mechanic, Patterson already won a $900 judgment.
Marks, who said he has sold thousands of cars in his 25 years in business, testified he fulfilled his side of the bargain.
“I didn’t sell a new auto,” he said, indicating it had roughly 130,000 miles at the time Patterson bought it. “I sold a used auto. And I stood behind it.”
Marks claimed he did more than the warranty called for and Patterson was still not satisfied.
“To me, $2,600 (in repairs) is reasonable,” Marks said, adding that used cars usually require about $2,000 in repairs annually, versus new cars which he said normally need $200 to $300. “It seems like harassment to me that this case won’t go away.”
But Commissioner Donna Groman, who began hearing small claims cases in Santa Monica November 1, didn’t agree. She awarded Patterson the full $5,000 claim plus court costs.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 11, 2002. Read the original PDF.