B.C. judge dismisses realtor's claim dealership misled him about Ford Mustang
CTV
A Vancouver Island real estate agent has lost his bid to recover a deposit he made on a new Ford Mustang that he intended to offer as a prize in a year-long contest in 2020.
Duncan provincial court judge J.P. MacCarthy dismissed the claim brought by Peter Andrew Sterczyk against DFS Motors Ltd., which operates as Island Ford.
According to MacCarthy's June 21 decision, Sterczyk conceived of the contest – which he dubbed "Win My Ride" – in 2019. The idea was to promote his business by entering anyone who completed a real estate transaction with him into a drawing, which would give them a chance to win his vehicle as the prize.
"His plan was to acquire a new car with dealer financing in December 2019, use it during 2020 and then draw the winner on Dec. 31, 2020, pay off the financing balance owing and transfer title to the winner in January 2021," MacCarthy's decision reads.
Sterczyk reached out to Island Ford because it was offering its own promotion at the time, called "Mustangs at Cost," which promised deep discounts on new Ford Mustangs.
The real estate agent contacted Island Ford salesperson Abraham Lee, who eventually sent him a window sticker for a vehicle at another dealership in the Lower Mainland, which Lee proposed to acquire for Sterczyk to purchase, according to the decision.
Based on the window sticker, Lee and Sterczyk agreed on an offer to purchase, and Sterczyk made a $2,500 deposit by credit card, MacCarthy's decision reads.
Though Lee did not tell Sterczyk which dealership the vehicle would be coming from, the window sticker included the Vehicle Identification Number, which allowed Sterczyk to look up the vehicle and find it advertised on the website of Mainland Ford in Surrey.
Sterczyk noticed that the vehicle listed on the website had more features than the window sticker listed, something MacCarthy concludes in his decision that neither Lee "nor any other representative" of Island Ford knew at the time Lee accepted Sterczyk's deposit.
