A BLACKBURN car dealer was fined £3,000 after pleading guilty to selling faulty cars.

Kashif Mohammed, 33, who was company director of Motor Nation garage at Perseverance Mill in Canterbury Street, initially faced a total of 31 allegations after charges were brought against him at both his home address, and also as a company director.

But after lengthy negotiations between prosecution and defence solicitors at Blackburn Magistrates Court yesterday, many of the charges against him were dropped, and he faced just three allegations against himself, to which he pleaded guilty.

Mohammed, of Deganwy Avenue, pleaded guilty to two charges of selling vehicles in an unroadworthy condition, relating to a Renault Clio, sold for £695, and a Ford Focus, with a purchase price of £1,295, sold by Motor Nation Garages.

The court heard that both cars broke down on their way home from the garage.

Prosecutor Jack Henriques said that one of the cars was in a ‘dangerous’ condition, and that the steering was ‘seriously defective’.

The third charge Mohammed admitted related to a BMW, which was sold using a misleading description likely to deceive the consumer.

The court was told that when sold for £15,800, the BMW was described as having a mileage of 39,000 when it was actually 137,000.

But defence solicitor Mr Parkinson said that while Mohammed had pleaded guilty to the charges of selling unroadworthy cars, he had not made the sales himself, and would not have allowed the cars to be driven away, but admitted that he had allowed a employee to do so. He said: “The gentleman who sold the vehicle didn’t have the necessary ability to sell the vehicle.”

He added that Mohammed had sold the BMW on behalf of a business associate, and had been unaware of the true mileage.

The court head that Motor Nation had folded as a company two months ago, and Mohammed was still repaying a substantial loan.

Due to his reduced means he was ordered to pay compensation of £600 to the purchaser of the Ford, £400 to the purchaser of the Renault, and £2,000 to the man who bought the BMW, bringing the level of total compensation he was ordered to pay to £3,000.