A Beijing woman has been ordered to pay 300,000 Yuan after crashing a sports car during a test drive. It mirrors a race-track case in the UK.
Courts in China have decided the common rule of “you break it, you buy it” also extends to expensive sports cars, as a Beijing resident woefully discovered. Ms Yang, who was attempting to overtake another car in an expensive Ford Mustang when she crashed, was ordered to pay 300,000 yuan ($48,175) to cover the cost of repairs to the dealership.
Yang claims that she was driving at a modest 80km per hour in second gear when the accident occurred, although the dealership claimed the car can reach 100km in first gear, implying that she was probably breaking the speed limit. Either speed on Beijing’s overcrowded streets is still a little too quick for comfort.
The dealership did not get the full 1.08 million yuan ($174,000) of compensation they demanded, as the court ruled that allowing Ms Yang to drive on a public road without any license plates or insurance, in a car with worn tires and faulty suspension, was almost as irresponsible.
The case mirrors a recent judgement that went against a highly experienced and respected British journalist after the engine in the 240mph (386kph) Porsche he was testing for a magazine article was destroyed. The elderly owner, David Piper, claimed journalist Mark Hales had over-revved the car, whilst Hales believed the transmission was wrongly set-up and that he also had a verbal agreement with Piper that any damage during the test would be covered by insurance or at the owner's cost.
Both judgements could have profound effects on test driving - whether on the road or on the track - in the countries concerned.