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The story
WECARS, a used-car dealership in Saijo, Ehime Prefecture that took over the business of the former Bigmotor, has been found to have sold a customer a used car that didn’t meet vehicle inspection (shaken) standards. On July 30, the Saijo Branch of the Matsuyama District Court ruled that “the seller has an obligation to deliver a vehicle that passes inspection,” finding WECARS in breach of contract and ordering it to pay 270,000 yen. The contract was reportedly signed just two months after the business changeover. On 5ch, many pointed out that even though the parent company changed to one affiliated with Itochu Corporation, the staff and culture on the ground haven’t changed, with opinions divided over the significance of the ruling and whether the damages amount was appropriate.
TV Ehime
Friday, September 25, 2026, 6:55 PM
The man bought the used car two months after “WECARS” took over the former Bigmotor’s business,
Source: fnn.jp / Original article here
What people said
Itochu is seriously underestimating the guys entrenched in the used-car industry
Trading companies are pretty much the same anyway
Landmark ruling — used car dealers are done for lol
I want WECARS to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court and get this locked in as precedent
No worries, they'll just make up the losses by hiking premiums
People probably figure things changed since the management did
But the sales and maintenance staff weren't all replaced, so the ones who got their hands dirty aren't changing anytime soon
It's pretty normal for a super-expensive import like a Maserati to have a muffler that doesn't meet domestic standards
If anything, the salesperson was just ignorant
A friend of mine drives a Levante with the unmodified Ferrari-built V6 twin-turbo, and it's already pretty loud lol
If the salesperson's at fault,
then the company's at fault
That just means it's a completely untrustworthy company
Definitely not a place you should be buying from
( ´,_ゝ｀)ﾌﾟｯ (a smug snicker face — basically 'pfft, sure')
There's no way you get a fresh start by making the customer just swallow the loss.
Just go under already
Since you need a genuine muffler to pass inspection, that's where the dispute came from
Rough business, being a used car dealer
It's a civil case
Selling a car that fails inspection without disclosing it is obviously a problem
If it's got plates, you're paying inspection fees based on the remaining validity period
so if it was already non-compliant at that point, that's fraud
was immaculately tidy with not a single blade of grass
right in front of the Bigmotor store — I really can't thank them enough (sarcasm — a jab at the scandal where Bigmotor was found to have killed roadside trees and weeds near its stores)
Meanwhile the local government is utterly useless
The dispute blew up because they then demanded 2.9 million yen in damages on top of a car that sold for 2.9 million yen
and high when they're buying too lol
the inside didn't
Yeah, this isn't good…
Background and Key Points of This Story
WECARS is said to have been formed when Itochu Corporation and others took over the business of the former Bigmotor, whose management collapsed amid the insurance fraud scandal. This ruling recognized a basic breach of contract — that a seller is obligated to deliver a vehicle that meets inspection standards — and the fact that it happened just two months after the business changeover has drawn particular attention. On 5ch, some speculated that the 270,000 yen payment order corresponds to the cost of fitting a genuine replacement muffler, suggesting it may be a different kind of figure from the 2.9 million yen damages claim that also drew attention elsewhere. The central debate centered on the argument that “fraud will keep repeating unless the staff and culture on the ground change, no matter how much the parent company or the sign out front changes,” with opinions split between those welcoming the ruling and those questioning Itochu’s response and accountability.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (Business News+) thread “Sale of a “car that fails inspection standards” in Saijo — Payment order against WECARS, two months after taking over former Bigmotor’s business [Ehime].”
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