5:44 am, August 17, 2026
A Porsche specialist car dealer who sold customers’ high-value vehicles on a sale-or-return basis and kept the proceeds has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Andrew Mearns, 57, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday (August 14) after admitting 14 counts of fraud.
Mearns was the owner of Gmund Cars, a Knaresborough-based classic Porsche specialist which took customers’ vehicles on sale or return (SOR).
Under the arrangement, owners entrusted their cars to the dealership to sell on their behalf, with the business taking a commission from the eventual sale.
But customers became concerned after discovering their vehicles had been sold without them receiving the money they were owed.
North Yorkshire Police said Mearns instead retained the proceeds, with his offences relating to 14 separate reports made between October 2017 and July 2019.
Among his victims was Matt Saphier, who handed Gmund a Porsche 911 worth more than £80,000 in May 2017.
A year later, he discovered through a DVLA notice that ownership of the car had changed, despite him not receiving the proceeds.
Another victim, Anthony Place, entrusted Mearns with his Porsche 924 Carrera GT in August 2018. Its ownership had changed by March the following year but Place was also left without his money.
Mearns, of Colwyn Place, Llandudno, was a director of Gmund Cars Limited from its incorporation in 2006 until 2019. The company was dissolved in 2020.
Police Staff Investigator Corrina Graham-Merrett, from North Yorkshire Police, said: ‘Mearns lied to his customers time and time again.
‘Thankfully, his offending was brought to a stop, and we have worked tirelessly to secure evidence against him over many years.
‘The financial and emotional impact on his victims has been nothing short of devastating, and will no doubt continue for them whilst civil cases are pursued to have vehicles repatriated.
‘It is right that he now faces the consequences for his actions.’
Sale-or-return under scrutiny
The case is the latest in a string of incidents involving sale-or-return businesses which have left customers without their cars or the money from their sale.
Earlier this year, Car Dealer reported on the collapse of supercar dealer Targa Florio Cars, where customers said vehicles entrusted to the business on SOR had been sold without them receiving the proceeds.
Sussex Police subsequently confirmed it was investigating reports involving payment issues at the dealership.
Meanwhile, the collapse of GVE London – which previously said around 80% of its stock was sold on an SOR basis – also left disputes over customer vehicles in the hands of administrators.
The problems prompted increased scrutiny of the model, with the FCA beginning to contact dealers using SOR earlier this year and seeking information about the controls they have in place.