Car dealer tells of plane crash shock

A NORTHSIDE car dealer has described his shock at being affected by a plane crash in the UK which killed relatives of Osama Bin Laden.

Three members of the former al-Qaeda leader’s family were among four people who died when a private jet, flying from Milan to Blackbushe Airport in southern England, crashed at a nearby car auction site on July 31.

More than 50 cars were either badly damaged or destroyed completely following the impact.
One of the cars belonged to UK Car Imports, a company based in Baldoyle Industrial Estate.
The company had purchased one of the cars – a 2009 BMW 320D – on behalf of a client living in the Irish Midlands.

Ironically, on the day of the crash, the vehicle was due to be picked up from the car auction site in Hampshire and transported to Ireland where it was to be eventually collected by its new owner.

Richard Smith, managing director of UK Car Imports, said some of the cars were so badly damaged in the accident that he only received confirmation that the BMW was one of them 10 days after the crash.

“I was absolutely shocked,

? Mr Smith told Northside People.

“I couldn’t believe it.

“Obviously it was a human tragedy and sadly people lost their lives but it was just such a very unusual thing to happen.

“It’s not every day that your business is affected by a plane crash that is linked to the family of Osama Bin Laden.

“When James Gibson, branch manager at British Car Auctions (BCA) in the UK, rang me and confirmed my car was one of those involved, my first thought was: how am I going to tell the client the bad news that the car he bought was destroyed in a fatal plane crash involving Osama Bin Laden’s relatives. It was a very strange call to have to make.

?

Mr Smith said his client was also shocked when he heard what had happened.

“He paid

?¬10,000 for the car, which included Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), and was initially concerned that he might lose out financially,

? said Mr Smith.

“However, once it was confirmed that this car was one of those involved in the crash, we assured him that he wouldn’t lose any money.

“He is satisfied with the situation and is looking at using our service to purchase another car.

?
Mr Smith, who lives in Baldoyle, set up his company two years ago after he was made redundant from the pharmaceutical industry.

UK Car Imports provides access to trade price cars. It sells cars through Carzone and the Car Buyers Guide but also buys cars from the UK to order.

Clients choose a car from the company’s website www.ukcarimports.ie where it has between 17,000 and 20,000 UK auction vehicles on any given day for sale.

“People come onto the site and if they are interested in a particular car, they contact us and we bid for it,

? added Mr Smith.

“Our company will then charge them an auction buying fee for managing the transaction.

?