A used hand car dealer has been jailed for eight months after turning a blind eye to the dangerous condition of the used cars he sold.

Experienced motor trader Dean Rosenthal sold one of two Mitsubishi Delica’s he had advertised on eBay under the name Trust Cars North West to Nicholas Scally who bought the vehicle for £2,995 after flying down from Inverness to make the purchase, The Wigan Evening Post reported.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the car began overheating just 40 miles into Mr Scally’s 390-mile journey home from Wigan as the coolant pipe was disconnected and the dashboard electronics were not working.

David Birrell, prosecuting, said that Mr Scally discovered that the car had just three months MOT left – despite being advertised with 12 – and found that its underside was dangerously corroded when he had it tested early, despite Rosenthal having insisted it had been fully sealed.

Rosenthal denied that the car was unroadworthy and refused a refund unless the car was brought back.

The Wigan Evening Post – which had launched its own investigation into Rosenthal’s car sales operation – reported that another Mitsubishi Delica, sold by 51-year-old Rosenthal to Stephen Walker, of Shrewsbury, for £3,500, involved £900 cash and the man’s VW Golf part-exchanged for £2,700.

It was advertised as having done 100,000 miles on the clock but was later found to have 40,000 and would not start as Rosenthal drove off in the part-exchanged Volkswagen.

When contacted by phone Rosenthal refused a refund.

The Golf later failed an MOT and Mr Walker had to spend £500 to make it roadworthy.

Despite telling Wigan Magistrates that he had ceased trading vehicles, the court heard that Rosenthal had since been trading on eBay under the name JAP Parts Only One, despite not having a licence to run such a business.

Brian Cummings QC handed Rosenthal an eight month jail sentence.