Car owner wins court battle, to get new car

"I won the triumph by myself even though the compensation was not worth the costs I've paid," Suraphong Viriyaprapasilp said.

Samut Prakan Provincial Court yesterday ordered Siam Nissan Automobile (SNA) and SMT Leasing to replace their customer's car, pay him damages and reimburse his legal expenses.

A Nissan source said the companies would consult their legal department before making a final decision on appealing the verdict, but the department has recommended taking the case to a higher court.

Suraphong told The Nation he sued the companies last June after he had run into a lot of problems with his car bought from SMT Leasing on Srinakarin Road in July 2006.

The court sentenced both companies to change the car worth Bt737,000 and pay damages of Bt47,500 plus statutory interest, the court filing fee and Bt5,000 lawyer fee.

Suraphong also filed a criminal lawsuit against both firms with the same court in September 2007, but the charge of fraud and deception was dismissed.

"I won't appeal if they decide not to appeal the civil case and obey the court. If they change my car, I hope the new one will have no problems," he said.

The old car was constantly in the garage since the day he bought it to fix parts including the doors, brakes, electric system, front axle, back shock absorber, air conditioning system and even the engine, he said.

He has a repair record at Siam Nissan SMT Services.

"We tried to fix all the car's defective parts and offered to replace his car or buy it back when the Consumer Protection Board let the companies and Suraphong reconcile a year ago before he sued, but he refused the offer," the source said.

Suraphong said he rejected the offer at that time because he wanted the companies to compensate him for the Bt200,000 he had spent on repairing the car and to pay interest and his lawyer.

The source said most customers facing the same kind of problem as Suraphong had accepted offers to take back their problem cars for another one.