A PENSIONER is suing a Bolton based luxury car dealership — who he claims broke their word and prevented him from owning his £200,000 dream car.

Kevin Hughes, aged 67, claims he had a "legally binding" contract with Porsche Centre Bolton to purchase a limited edition Porsche 911 GT3 in 2011.

He said that he paid the dealership a £10,000 deposit on March 18, 2011, to ensure he had first refusal on the car, should they receive one from the manufacturer.

However Mr Hughes claims that, after receiving one of the cars, the dealership sold it to another customer who had been "behind him in the race to pay the deposit first".

He sued the dealership's parent company, Pendragon Sabre Ltd, claiming he was promised "the first one" if they got one or more of the rare cars in stock.

However his claim was previously rejected by District Judge Knifeton at Preston County Court, who found that there was no contract agreed between the dealership and Mr Hughes.

The judge found there had merely been "an expression of interest by Mr Hughes" about the car — and in any case he had suffered no loss by not buying it.

Now Mr Hughes, from Coppull, Chorley, is fighting to have that decision reversed in London's Appeal Court.

Mr Hughes was described as an "avid Porsche enthusiast", who had set his heart on owning the limited edition car when he learned that particular model would shortly cease production.

Martin Budworth, representing Mr Hughes told Lord Justice Richards, Lady Justice Macur and Mr Justice Cranston: "The judge was wrong to find that no binding agreement had been made."

He attacked the reasons given by Judge Knifeton as "very short and unconvincing."

At the hearing on Tuesday, Mr Budworth said: "He failed to have proper regard to the fact that the defendant had required Mr Hughes to sign a contractual order form.

"The parties clearly thought they had made an agreement which had some legal force...there was plainly more than a mere expression of interest."

Insisting that Mr Hughes had lost money, he said the value of the car has made a "big jump" from the "list price" of £128,000, in 2011, to around £200,000 now.

Mr Budworth insisted that there was an agreement which obliged the dealership to "honour first come first served".

Pendragon are fighting Mr Hughes' appeal, and the judges have now reserved their decision on the case until a later date.