Two months after taking delivery of a $378,000 BMW 5 series, a regional sales manager sent the car back, complaining about noises coming from the car. The BMW was in the workshop for almost 10 months.

Mr Chan Chee Kien claimed that the alleged defects have not been rectified despite the time it was in the workshop.

He sued Performance Motors, the agent for BMW, for misrepresentation and breach of contract after the distributor said it was not going to replace the car. A seven-day hearing into the case started in the High Court on Tuesday (sept17).

Mr Chan told the court that in 2010, he was driving a BMW 330i and was looking to upgrade to a bigger car. In May 2010, he decided on the 550i, a top-of-the-line model in the 5 Series range. But in October, he complained of "abnormal" sounds from the car. He sent the car to the workshop seven times between October 2010 and September 2011. He has not driven the car since retrieving it from the workshop in January last year.