SECOND-HAND MOTOR-CAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 October 1918, Page 7

SECOND-HAND MOTOR-CAR.

I .QUESTION OF WARRANTY AT SALE. The case of J. Wilkes (Mr A. 11 Johnstone) v. G. C. Kibby (Mr J. H. Quilliam), a claim fee £4O damages in respect to a motor purchased by plaintiff from defendant allegedly with .% warranty as to it being in good .nuinmg order, whi.ch wiis commenced in. the Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, was resumed yesterday when some of the parts of the motor, which were said to have been worn out at the time of teesale, were produced, and further evidence taken as to whether a,' ear, with portions of the mechanism! so worn, could be said to be in running order. E. S. Wooldridge, motor mechanic, stated a search had been made in his shop for the parts of the universal joint of the car, but they had not been discovered. Being brass, they had probably gone away with the scrap brass. Some gear pinions had been found. Such gears, worn as they were, would be liable to slip out of mesh. To Mr Quilliam: The universal joint could not be worn by unskilful driving; it could be broken by unskilful driving. It could oho be broken by skilful driving.

To Mr Johnstone: The joint in its worn condition, would be liable to break even while being driven on a good road by a skilful driver. The work he did to the ear wa3 what he considered necessary to put the car in good order. To Mr Quilliam: He did put the car in proper order. He could not say why it had since broken down at both Palmerston and Wauganui. He understood it was some mishap to the cylinders, but he had not seen the car and had no opportunity of judging why the car had broken down.

Evidence was also given by Harry Jenkins, mechanic, employed by Wooldridge, who had charge of the repairs effected to Wilkes' car, as to the state of the car when he did the work, in which he corroborated the evidence of Wooldridge. Prank Duckworth recalled, said it would he possible for the universal joint to be broken by unskilful or skilful driving. He considered the gears could be worn, as they were, in a few hours, by an inexperienced driver. The ef- | feet of much changing from one gear to another by a learner would be to wear the gear pinions unduly. He contended that if the gears had been in the condition of those produced at the time of the sale, it would have been noticable, on changing gears, to an experienced d/iver. He noticed nothing of the sort when he drove in the car a week or two before the sale took place. Decision in the case was reserved.