The District Court has overturned a Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal decision, ruling that a Nelson woman was entitled to reject her new Opel Mokka-e under the Consumer Guarantees Act and ordering the dealer to refund the full purchase price plus interest.

In a judgment released on July 9, District Court Judge S.M. Harrop allowed Julie Blommaert’s appeal against Rick Armstrong Motors Peugeot Ltd and Auto Distributors New Zealand Ltd, finding the tribunal had applied the wrong legal tests when it rejected her claim.

Blommaert purchased the Opel Mokka-e SRI for $63,415 in April 2023. Over the following 17 months, she experienced a series of issues, including a safety recall, bodywork defects, damage while the vehicle was being serviced, delays replacing a cracked windscreen, and ultimately a noisy driveshaft that could not be repaired because a redesigned replacement part was still being developed in Europe.

Rick Armstrong Motors Peugeot Limited according to the company office records is part of the same Group as Armstrong Greenlane Limited where we got the Ineos from