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Mazda dealer who fired manager after infamous sale owns other store with him
May 10, 2010
Tony Van Alphen
A Mazda dealer, who fired his general manager for allegedly selling a car for $25,000 more than its value, owns an area Suzuki store where the same former senior employee is a partner.
Sunny Bains, owner of Mazda of Orangeville, confirmed Monday his ex-manager “Moe” Shaikh is a vice-president and partner at Bains Suzuki of Pickering but he won’t be much longer.
“Absolutely, that will be ending very soon,” Bains said in an interview.
Bains fired Shaikh last week as general sales manager at the Mazda store after the industry’s regulator said he sold a 2010 car to an Orangeville woman for about $66,000 after taxes and the value of her trade-in vehicle when its value was actually less than $41,000.
The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, which regulates new and used car dealers, charged Mazda of Orangeville, Shaikh and another senior employee with “engaging in unfair practice, by making an unconscionable representation,” contrary to the Consumer Protection Act.
Among other things, the regulator’s probe found the dealership sold the Mazda6 G6 to the unemployed woman who should not have qualified for an expensive long-term loan and charged her extra items for three times their real value. Furthermore, the car wasn’t new, according to the regulator.
Bains, who also dismissed the other employee, said he could not comment on the allegations against his Mazda dealership because the case is before the courts.
Shaikh, 46, of Mississauga could not be reached for comment on the charge and his ties to the Suzuki dealership in Pickering. A court hearing is scheduled Wednesday.
The dealership could face a maximum fine of $250,000 and the former employees $100,000 each if a court finds them guilty.
The regulator could also revoke the registrations of the defendants that would prevent them from selling autos in Ontario.
Regarding the Suzuki dealership, Baines noted that although it lists Shaikh as the second top executive on its “team,” the former Mazda manager never played an active role in the store and only holds a small equity stake.
Bains acknowledged he has worked with Shaikh in the past at a Toronto Chrysler dealership before the general manager joined the Mazda store about 1½ years ago.
Bains acquired the Suzuki store last fall but another company is already close to buying it from him, an official for the automaker said.
Meanwhile, Mazda Canada called the details of the sale to the woman “very disturbing.”
“Let me assure you this is not a common situation among Mazda dealers, nor is it behavior that Mazda Canada condones,” said company spokesperson Greg Young.
After the Star reported the incident and charges last week, Bains said the dealership would immediately rescind the contract, reimburse all payments and apologize to the woman.
Kevin Coon, a lawyer representing Mazda of Orangeville, said it is discussing a speedy resolution of “all matters” with the regulator and the woman.
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