The owner of a limited-edition Ferrari sent his car to an authorised agent for servicing, only to get back a badly smashed ride.
Businessman Lim Chin Liang is suing Ital Auto for an unspecified sum, claiming that his Ferrari F430 Scuderia, apparently one of only eight in Singapore, was damaged beyond repair.
He sent the second-hand car in for servicing on March 15. Two days later, Ital’s quality tester took the car out for a post-servicing test-drive, and lost control of it on a wet road.
On March 26, Mr Lim filed the suit against Ital through law firm Parwani & Co. When asked why he was suing, the 33-year-old, who buys and sells high-end cars, said Ital “refused to settle”, “never apologised” and was dragging its feet by asking him how much he paid for the car and what the open-market value (OMV) was.
“I’m surprised that as an authorised agent, it does not have this information,” he said in a phone interview. Mr Lim would not say how much he paid for the car.
However, The Straits Times understands that he acquired the car with financing from credit company Kenso Leasing. Kenso director Anthony Lim said the car was “three to four years old” and was transacted at “around $500,000-plus”.
Ital, owned by hotelier Ong Beng Seng, secured the Ferrari franchise in 2009. The Scuderia was sold before its tenure. When contacted, a company spokesman said it preferred not to comment as the case is now with the lawyers.
In the defence statement filed by Selvam LLC, Ital denied that the car was damaged beyond repair. The company also denied that its driver had failed to exercise care and skill.
The car was travelling at 68kmh on a straight path when it skidded, the company added.
It also claimed that before this incident, the test-driver had never had an accident while doing his job – one that he has held for 19 years.
In fact, it denied “each and every allegation” laid out in Mr Lim’s suit.
Mr Lim’s lawyer will now have two weeks to respond to the defence statement.
