At some point in life, it’s fairly common to regret buying a car. Maybe it’s out of a lack of due diligence, maybe the car ends up unexpectedly being a lemon, or maybe it just didn’t live up to expectations. Whatever the case, most of us haven’t sought revenge for this sort of remorse, but that doesn’t mean this kind of thing doesn’t happen. This week, one Utah man reportedly decided to take matters into his own hands by crashing his recently-purchased car through the front doors of the dealership that sold it to him, and the incident was caught on camera.
As Fox 13 Now out of Salt Lake City reports, police in Sandy, Utah report that the man in this incident “bought a car from Tim Dahle Mazda Monday morning.” More specifically, it appears to be a 2008 to 2009 Subaru Outback, likely in either 2.5i or 2.5i Limited trim judging by the seven-spoke alloy wheels. Unfortunately, this man wouldn’t turn out to be a happy customer, as the report goes on to state that he “reportedly discovered mechanical issues and went back to the dealership, hoping to return it.” Unfortunately, this was reportedly an as-is sale, so it seems that the customer was out of luck.
In a situation like this, most people would perhaps leave a negative Google review, go to the press, or more likely, accept the risks of buying an as-is car without a pre-purchase inspection to uncover any potential mechanical problems. However, as Fox 13 Now reports, “Police said the man threatened to drive through the dealership’s front door if they wouldn’t give him his money back.” Judging by the video below, and a police statement saying he “did exactly that,” what ended up happening was reportedly deliberate.
Man crashes car into dealership showroom due to overcharge
byu/RedDevil4853 inPublicFreakout
Maybe some parts of the 2000 remake of “Gone in 60 Seconds” aren’t totally unbelievable after all. It’s amazing to hear that nobody was hurt in this incident, especially as the Outback absolutely obliterated the front desk of the showroom, not to mention the doors. Unsurprisingly, law enforcement generally frowns upon this sort of behavior, so Fox 13 Now reports that the man has been charged with felony criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
Understandably, this seems like a shocking thing to happen at a workplace. While dealership employee Aylin Hernandez reportedly wasn’t there at the time of the incident, she told Fox 13 Now:
“What would’ve happened?” she wondered. “Who knows — it could’ve been fatal.”
“He came back but with a rage… Without thinking, he just acted out on rage,” she said.
Violence in the workplace is a rough thing to experience even by proximity, so one can only imagine the emotions experienced by anyone who was present at the time. I’ve reached out to Tim Dahle Mazda Southtown in Sandy, Utah for comment, and will provide an update should I hear more information.
It should be pretty obvious that, if this went down as reported, we aren’t looking at the greatest tree of decision-making here. Crashing a car into a dealership allegedly out of anger and ending up with criminal charges and a damaged car doesn’t appear to be a win. Again, a pre-purchase inspection might have potentially avoided this. Paying a little north of $100 to know if a prospective purchase needs work seems a much better deal than being stuck with a problematic car, or worse, getting arrested.
(Photo credits: Reddit)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Why Did Someone Steal A Life-Sized Statue Of F1 Driver Gilles Villeneuve?
-
Someone Stole Nissan’s Own R32 GT-R Right Out Of The Automaker’s Collection
-
London Police Seize 60 Cars Over ‘Anti-Social’ Driving Behavior, Here’s What That Crime Actually Is
-
Man Shares Photos Of His Honda S2000 On Bricks In His Own Garage, Says Thieves Busted A Hole Through The Wall
-
These Videos Of A Massive Brawl At A Toyota Dealership Leave Us With More Questions Than Answers (UPDATED WITH POLICE STATEMENT)
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
Im thinking likely charges will be: destruction of property, and assault with a deadly weapon. I understand he felt totally ripped off, but there are other options available than ramming a car into a building. Of course there is.
Given consumer protection laws being so weak and puny, it is no wonder people increasingly act out their rage when the laws protect the corporations not people.
Your last sentence hits on my immediate thought when I read this, especially considering… other… news stories, on top of how downright angry people are here lately.
Obviously, this is double plus ungood behavior. But FWIW, this is at least partially a result of the dealership network in question broadly advertising their “forever warranty” on local media…
…without concurrently detailing what the ‘qualified used vehicle’ limitation actually entails.
The Subaru Outback is the one model in the Subaru lineup that got 5 stars in the NHTSA “Drive a Car Through the Dealership Front Windows” safety test…
I have worked for franchise(meaning new car) dealerships for the better part of 15 years now. In the state of Pennsylvania, no car is truly “as-is” and the dealerships(at least the ones who give a shit about their reputation) know this. This is because franchise dealerships sell calls that come with warranties(new cars, certified cars, powertrain only cars) and that therefore IMPLIES to the ignorant(as in unknowing, not an asshole) customer that every car has a warranty.
EVERY SINGLE TIME a car that was bought “as-is” at any dealership I worked at had a problem, it was fixed at either a steeply discounted rate or at no cost at all. Google reviews and manufacturer surveys mean the world to these places and a couple hundred bucks here and there is not worth the hassle of these negative remarks. This is particularly true when a protected class happens to be involved. Seriously, if you’re a woman of color and you come into any showroom screaming, you’ll get everything you want plus dinner.
Oh my…..the stories I could tell.
Enthusiasm for cars is waning. More and more people see driving as a chore that takes away from their precious phone/screen staring time and could care less to know the first thing about a car. There are plenty of people around who have no problem ripping off people who don’t know any better. I wouldn’t be surprised if this sort of thing becomes commonplace in the near future.
PPI or not, I’ve never encountered an honest dealer and I have no faith that this car was properly represented. I dont blame this guy one bit and I’m surprised more people dont react this way. From what I read about what was wrong with it, it should have been auctioned or scrapped. Not sold as a running car.
In my state(Pennsylvania) the dealerships have to be honest or they risk losing their sales licenses. It’s insane the level of regulation that this state has on its dealership network. I say this as a positive, because near as I can tell, it’s the most consumer friendly state to buy a car in.
I’m not going to buy a car from you, bro.
It wasn’t a sales pitch, bro. Just saying that most dealers are honest businesses and the experience or two you had with shitbags are probably anomalies. And I’m sorry that happened.
Shit, I’m sold.
And what was wrong with it?
Because it sure seemed to be a running car when it went through the dealer’s window…
Is it wrong to think the more effective way of communicating your displeasure with the dealership’s decision would be to ram your vehicle into as many new cars on his lot as possible?
Let’s hope it wasn’t financed.
People shopping for 15 year old subarus as daily drivers may be a tiny bit unstable.
I’m willing to bet this crash and the car purchase are just the latest in a string of bad decisions.
I mean, I’d expect (and have experienced) shady stuff from any Doug Smith dealership, or Ken Garff dealerships, but Tim Dahle? Okay, yeah, I’d expect it from them, too.
Hate. It’s what makes Subaru…a Subaru.
Or even get an OBD dongle and learn a little about cars and check it out yourself. It’s not a very complicated car. This guy is an idiot on so many levels, but it seems odd that what I assume is a reasonably expensive buy (above a threshold value where “as is” is implied, if Utah even has that) was allowed to be sold “as is” unless it was explicitly stated in contract. What was the nature of the problem(s)? In MA, the car would have to pass a safety and emissions test or the dealer would have to buy it back or pay to repair it enough to pass. The safety test would cover most mechanical things and the emissions test would be a good indicator of engine health. It could possibly still have a transmission or something like a HG problem and pass, but both are easy for even an amateur to diagnose. Obviously, the vehicle was in running order, so I wonder what the issue was.
Having almost bought a car from here before, they assured me that the car passed safety and emissions tests no problem, and then the CEL came on less than 20 miles later. They had clearly forged the inspection results or something because there’s no way in hell that thing would have passed.
Yeah, that’s probably not as uncommon as it should be, which is why it’s always a good idea to get it done elsewhere for a used car. Sounds like they had it coming to some degree.
You can bet they reset that CEL just before you bought the car.
Yep. Which is illegal, but can’t be proven so they get away with it.
I think later model cars these days, you can hook up a scan tool and the tool will tell you when was the last time the CEL had been reset.
It’s entirely possible to have a vehicle pass state safety and emissions inspections then throw a CEL shortly after.
Depends on the test(s), the vehicle, and the state’s requirements, but it’s possible. In my state at least the vehicle’s emissions monitors have to set in order to pass the emissions test, and they automatically get cleared if a CEL has come on.
Heck, I’ve had a customer’s vehicle throw a CEL just by connecting the emissions OBDII machine to the car’s port, because it had a circuit fault to the OBDII port. It was fun explaining that one.
Referring back to the test and the state: not all states have the same rules. Some allow for powertrain oil leaks, others don’t. Some allow exterior bulbs to be out as long as the minimum amount of bulbs work, while others require any and all factory exterior lighting to function.
It’s not entirely cut and dried, especially on that old of a vehicle.
I’m not sure about Utah, but I know Oklahoma has no such requirement; dealers often post cars for sale that are auction bound that they know won’t pass inspection because if someone picks it up before they send it to auction, at least they save on the fees. Some pretty rough stuff gets listed as a result.
Yeah, a lot of this stuff varies by state. I only know MA and Utah probably leans further away from the side of consumer rights and I don’t know what their inspection requirements are. MA is one of the CA standard states, so inspections—particularly for emissions—are pretty strict. Back in the day, you could pay a guy extra and get it to pass by running the sniffer in a different car, but those days are long over. The good part of it is that there’s at least a little more dealer accountability.
“Back in the day, you could pay a guy extra and get it to pass by running the sniffer in a different car, but those days are long over. The good part of it is that there’s at least a little more dealer accountability.”
THAT’S the good part?
As someone who appreciates clean air I see a lot more benefit than slightly fewer dealer shenanigans.
That should have been a separate thought. The dealer accountability follows from the consumer protection laws that relate to the inspection. The statement about cheating the emissions test in the old days (pre OBD2), was more about the individual with a shit box they were trying to limp along. I don’t think many dealers did that except for maybe the shady used car lots that also had an inspection station. Those days are gone as, not only do the cars run on a dyno connected to the OBD2, but there are also far fewer inspection stations under a lot more scrutiny. They actually perform real safety inspections on my new cars, like checking ball joints and tie rods. In the old days, it was rare to find one that bothered even on a shit box. While the inspections here have cost me money to help people pass them, I’m good with it for the cleaner air and safer cars on the road.
I had to sell my SR-swapped S13 because I was running out of friendly inspection places.
I sold it to a guy after fully explaining the situation and with an additional bill of sale specifically saying the vehicle would not pass state emissions inspection. He agreed, signed and repeatedly said he understood.
Got a call from him at inspection time looking for a friendly shop, but the following year MA dropped emissions testing for pre-OBDII cars.
If they register it for you then it has to pass inspection, so they can sell cars that don’t, but if they do the registration then they can’t. I have never seen a big box store like this one sell cars without the reg though, and when it happened to me they definitely registered it meaning that it had to have passed inspection.
Similar in NY. While our state inspections can be onerous, it keeps the worst of the junk off the roads.
I went to school in Detroit and, after seeing the horrifying junk driving around that would have been scrapped 10 years earlier in MA and broken cars all over the place, sometimes left for months largely blocking the entrance ramp to a highway, I came home a big proponent of MA inspection and that was well before it got as tough as it is. It’s not all that common that I see cars that look unsafe on the road anymore. A few near more impoverished places, but overall rare.
Put remember that’s David’s origin story.
You can safely assume any Subaru of this vintage traded in at a new car store is broken, no need for an inspection.
I agree. As a former owner of a Subaru from this generation and someone who spent a lot of time looking for it, I came to three conclusions.
All Subaru’s from this era listed for sale a broken. The good ones don’t get sold.If the Subaru looks good, you are missing a flaw that will show up in the first month.The sellers are delusional about the value and condition.
Customer: I was hoping to get a look at that used Subaru I saw on your website, but it just sold. Can you let me know when another one comes in?
Salesman: Sure thing, let me just ask my sales manager…
(*Subaru crashes through front door*)
Salesman: Actually, one just came in. Let me get the keys to your trade-in while I draw four squares on this sheet of paper.
You’re in luck, Mister Hundal!
I’m pretty sure Al Bundy did this exact thing with no consequences, are you suggesting that TV lied to us?
Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a single game for Polk High School during the 1966 City Championship, including the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds. He was practically a celebrity.
And his wife is a solid 11
It seems very unlikely that an unstable individual would allow himself to be inspected.
Also I would be surprised if dealerships are licensed for that sort of thing.
Either modern glass building doors are just weak as hell or Subaru really overbuilt those Outbacks. No crumpling on the frontal area or bumper at all?
Old ones were pretty damn rugged. I think the plastic bumpers on my mk1 were as tough as the metal impact bumpers on my older ones. The building is also probably built like shit.
Junk yards had legions of 80s versions where a front end collision suddenly stopped at the shock tower. Rest of car was fine.
A storefront just needs to be designed to withstand ground level wind loading. I reckon Utah’s requirement isn’t all that high compared to, say, the Gulf Coast.
There’s not much to those glass doors, and the impact was fast and forceful enough to rip stuff away before it would cause deeper damage. The airbag didn’t even go off.
While violence is not the answer (it usually doesn’t solve anything), I’m having trouble finding my Dealership Sympathy Violin. It must be here somewhere and I’m sure I could find it if I could just had a magnifying glass. Does anyone have some tweezers handy if I do manage to find it?
Something happened in my neck of woods a week ago involving health insurance. It seems a lot of people are looking for tiny violins lately.
It’s only slightly larger than the Health Insurance CEO Sympathy Violin, that can only be seen with an electron microscope.
Why do I think this douche bag was near DC on 6 Jan 2021?
The overlap of that population and prospective and/or actual Subaru owners seems very small.
Maybe you’re over-projecting?
Or maybe I am right. Overlap is just that. Overlap, but appreciate your input. lol
Nothing against Subie owners at all here.
Just uncontrollable people who can’t seem to cope. YMMV and wish you a nice day
I would find it relatively hilarious if he was actually a card-carrying Democrat, just to flip folks’ stereotyping around on them.
Same here, but there’s nothing funny or acceptable when anyone pulls the stupid shit that he did. And ignorance about having a car pre inspected before purchase does not help his case here a bit.
I just hope this idiot has no children. Living with a lunatic can really fuck up a kid bigly…thanks
Damn I was pissed when the fiance brought in her Tourx for a transmission flush and the wanted over 900 bucks to do it (they wanted to charge 80 dollars a quart) maybe I should have just driven the car through the window instead of telling her to leave and I’ll get my own fluid.
Damn does the tourx take platinum fluid? Was considering getting one after seeing someone with an opel badged swapped one but thats insane!
Oh it is just because it has a Toyota transmission and GM says you need to use their AC Delco fluid (even though you can just get Toyota fluid for it and it will be fine)
How’s your rear diff?
I had my own used car buying regret episode this summer after buying a 2018 TourX with 80k miles from the local Buick dealer. Well maintained by the dealer its whole life and overhauled by them after they took it in on trade: all brakes new, oil change, filters, misc items, the works. And less than 6 months on the tires. It was in amazing condition overall. One other thing I noticed but didn’t think much of was that the diff fluid was changed. Well, turns out the diff is a little leaky and it was making noise when it was brought in and eventually traded. The dealer probably told them it will cost $4000 to replace the diff, might as well trade up. Fortunately when they changed the fluid it silenced the diff – it probably leaked down over many 1000’s of miles got noisy as the level dropped. The leak is slow enough that the level hasn’t changed in 6 months, so here’s hoping that there wasn’t much damage done and it’ll go another 50k for me with no problem.
Oh and I fucking HATE that automatic trans. I’ve never known a car that loved to lug around at 1200 RPM like this.
Was it not just the diff seal leaking?
The diff was leaking on the passenger side output/axle seal. Appears to be a very slow leak. So the car was brought in for service by the previous owner, noting “a sound coming from the back when turning.” It was found to be the diff making the noise and the fluid was low. Customer traded the car in, dealer changed the fluid, the sound went away and they sold me the car.
Nope I have not had any issues with the rear diff we bought the tourx with a out 40-50k miles on it and I did a rear diff fluid change shortly after getting it and it has about 86k miles on it now with no issues. But now that just reminded me since I am getting the trans fluid changed out I should get the transfer case fluid changed also which that I’ll just do myself.
Oh and if you have not already get a tune on it I got one from Trifecta and the trans shifts so much better and it gives it a bit more power and torque. It is very simple to flash on to if you have a laptop
When you’re under there check for any signs of oil moisture on that rear diff. My leak was slow enough that it presented only as heavier, darker dirt on the passenger side axle output where the seal was leaking.
Also I hope you used the exact PN fluid for the diff change – guessing you did since it’s been fine. There was one guy I saw in either BITOG or Buick forums who changed his diff fluid early and used the right weight etc. but not the AC Delco PN and his diff went bad – dealer chalked up to incorrect fluid. Fortunately for him, they still replaced it under warranty. I guess the additives really matter.
I did read into that tune. Crazy how this car is that it is so common to do that. I am going to give it a full year – if it is still actively bothering me then I might do it. Funny enough I’ve been getting around that and the auto start/stop feature by flicking over to manual mode. I’ve driven stick almost exclusively for the past 20 years so fiddling with that lever helps keep me focused on driving, too.
If I am not mistaken the rear-diff did not require a specific gear oil just needed to make sure to put the correct limited slip additive into it. When reading up on the PTU (transfer case) I know forums were saying you pretty much have to go with the GM oil (which sucks because it is 70-80 a bottle but luckily only takes like 0.7 quarts). But thanks for the reminder when I squeeze under there this weekend I am going to see if I see any signs of leaks.
OK, someone could have gotten hurt so this obviously wasn’t ok.
That said, I’d like to know more about the circumstances. Dude probably thought he was making a safer purchase getting a vehicle that old from a dealership (and a legit one, at that – not some random corner lot) and paid a big premium on a car of that age for that peace of mind. The purchase almost certainly isn’t covered by lemon laws, but who knows what kind of crap the salesperson told him and what sort of “121 point inspection” crap they fed him. It, at least, should be a lesson in used car buying for a lot of people.
It’s hilarious reading the comments on the local news sites, people are taking this as a huge sign to never go anywhere near that dealer, and that makes me happy. They have been known to be crazy shady for decades. This wasn’t the right way to handle the situation, but I am happy to hear the dealer is likely going to have significant fall out from this.
When the video first broke the information was that it was an as-is sale. Inspection levels will vary based on what places offer, from “Certified Pre-owned” having (generally) more thorough inspections, to the auction darlings that maybe got a glance from a tech at most that the dealership will try to move to avoid possibly losing money on at auction.
You don’t need a PPI to know that its not a good idea to buy a 15 year old Subaru. This is coming from someone who owns 2 two-decade old Subarus bought new.
I own two 2-3 decade-old Subarus bought used. I used calculated risk (as long time Subaru owner/geek) and bought my newer (2003) Legacy sight unseen in 2019, 3000-miles away off a craigslist ad for $2100. Great car. Drove it across the country after I bought it. Just this past October I did two cross country road trips (NH to CA, CA to AK) in it. Chef’s kiss.
I’m shocked that people are acting like these cars fall apart after 10-15 years suddenly. Other than my brand new Crosstrek, every Subaru I’ve ever owned has had nearly or over 200k on them when I’ve sold them. These older ones have borderline bulletproof 4 or 5 speed automatics, and farm-implement-esque simple engines. Worst thing that I’ve ever had happen to any of my 6 was a blown head-gasket, and it ran trouble-free for another 150k miles after I replaced it. Go figure. I’ll just keep enjoying my trouble-free cars that are “so unreliable”.
You can take the “15 year old” part out and still be correct.
Maybe cops need to handle the crimes that occur before some asshole parks in a building,
Seems like a rational, totally reasonable guy. I am sure he was totally justified in making this decision.
Ultimately, I imagine he bought this quite cheap as a former trade in that they wanted off the lot and it is his fault for not having it inspected at the end of the day. And clearly, this is not going to help things at all.
Couple additional details I saw elsewhere, the guy had bought the car that day. So while yes, PPI is key, the fact that some sort of major issue popped up within hours of buying the car shows that the almost certainly had undisclosed issues. Having grown up in the area, and knowing most of the car dealers out there, Tim Dahle has probably the worst reputation of any new car chain.
Many years ago when I was young and dumb I bought a car there, and same deal. Hours later the check engine light came on, it needed a transmission. Luckily in my case, they had screwed up the paperwork, and after talking to a lawyer, I was able to get out of the deal due to the incorrect paperwork that was legally invalid so I certainly feel for the guy. Obviously this is not the way to deal with it, but man I hate that dealer and it pisses me off to see they are still pulling the same crap 15 years later.
Hahaha, I was just texting a good buddy of mine about this. He is a service manager at this dealership. Freaking crazy people. My friend told me the guy actually came back in and asked if there was someone under the car.
Their reply: “We haven’t looked under this car once since it was traded in, and we aren’t going to now, either!”