A BUSINESSMAN whose Porsche 911 sports car turned into a £140,000 money pit is facing financial meltdown after losing a six-year legal battle.

Model shop owner Damian Markland bought the car in 2007 for £48,000 for the GT3 Mk1.

It was seven years old and had 26,000 miles on the clock, it had a service history of regular maintenance with both Porsche and specialist mechanics.

But he soon noticed it lacked power and there were problems with the hand-made engine.

The 34-year-old, from Goosnargh, near Preston, took it to the specialist Porsche Centre Bolton, run by Pendragon Sabre Ltd, in Manchester Road, Burnden.

The car was fitted with a new engine temperature sensor and a fresh set of tyres but still did not perform as he expected, and in November, 2007, a valve head broke and the engine needed a complete rebuild.

Mr Markland, who runs Speedy Models, in Garstang Road, Broughton, took it back to Pendragon Sabre complaining of a noisy exhaust, oil in the engine compartment and heavy steering.

Lord Justice Longmore told London’s Civil Appeal Court that in May, 2008, the car failed its MoT because its rear wheels were fitted the wrong way round.

Mr Markland took his car to a Porsche specialist in Oxford where faults were found, including that the throttle cable was not properly connected to the engine.

He took Pendragon Sabre to a county court, claiming the garage had let him down and failed to care for his car properly. He claimed more than £40,000 in damages but got a shock when a judge awarded him less than £1,000 in relation to the throttle cable after preferring the garage’s expert evidence.

As Pendragon Sabre had earlier offered Mr Markland more than that to settle his claim, he was ordered to pay the company’s £34,000 legal costs bills.

He said: “I’m going to have to sell the car to pay the court costs.

“My business could go under — I will have to sell my model shop and I will probably lose my home.”

He said he had also spent about £40,000 on repairs.

Porsche Centre Bolton did not respond to a request for a comment.