Wednesday May 23, 08:08 PM

Bruce Willis ain't smiling now

By Splash Die Hard star Bruce Willis is suing a car dealership after they allegedly sold him a $70,000 motor that didn't work.

The 52-year-old actor claims New Jersey company Black Tie Classics (BTC) "fraudulently" sold him a 1967 GTO Pontiac car with a string of faults.

When the vehicle arrived in Los Angeles it apparently had, amongst other problems, a loose steering wheel, bad brakes and a door that failed to close.

Willis says it was in such a poor state it had to be towed to a mechanic rather than driven there.

Willis spotted an advert for the classic car in December last year and asked his agent to look into buying it.

The ad claimed the motor was a "real show car" that had been restored to its original condition.

According to court documents, BTC president John J. Bertino refused to let the Hollywood star examine the car before buying it - saying it was in "perfect", "pristine" and "museum quality" condition.

Willis went ahead with the purchase anyway and handed over $70,000 for the car.

But when the car arrived in LA in January, the actor says it was far from "perfect" and required numerous repairs to make it safe to drive.

"The steering wheel was completely loose, the brakes were bad, the engine profusely smoked when one attempted to drive the car, the driver-side door would not close (the bolts were completely loose), the battery light would not turn off, and the driver-side visor was falling off," court papers state.

Willis apparently forked out $2997 for repairs to make the car operable, and the mechanic also listed a string of other changes he believed the car needed.

When Willis's agent phoned BTC, the company allegedly agreed to take the car back and reimburse the Sixth Sense star.

But according to the lawsuit, they failed to keep their word after Willis shipped the vehicle back to Stratford, New Jersey.

"This action arises from the defendants fraudulently passing off an inoperable car riddled with extensive mechanical problems as a purported 'pristine/museum quality condition' vehicle that had undergone a frame off restoration and was 'all correct to perfection'," the court papers say.

"After paying for the vehicle, Plaintiff discovered that Defendants had grossly misrepresented the condition of the vehicle, including the fact that it had not been frame off restored.

"Although Defendants agreed to rescind the purchase contract, agreed to refund the purchase price, accepted the vehicle when Plaintiff returned it to Defendants, and maintain possession of the vehicle, to date, Defendants have failed and refused to pay Plaintiff."

In the lawsuit, filed on May 18, Willis demands to recover damages and rescind the purchase agreement.

He says he has lost a total of $72,782