A Utah man drove his newly purchased car through the front doors of a car dealership Sunday afternoon after he apparently tried to return the car.
There’s a video of it and it went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Sandy Police Department said in a release that a man identified as Michael Murray had bought a vehicle at Tim Dahle Mazada Southtowne on Monday. After driving it off the lot, he was apparently not happy with the car.
According to the police statement, Murray returned to the dealership and asked for a refund. But the car was sold “as is,” according to the police, which was in the sales contract. The police report said the man said the dealership would not give a refund.
Murray allegedly then said he was going to drive the car through the front door.
According to Sandy police, within minutes of that comment, Murray drove the car through the building. The police were notified of the incident at around 4 p.m. and he was taken into custody by the Sandy police.
Tyler Slade, general manager at Tim Dahle Mazada Southtowne, told the Deseret News that Murray came in looking for an inexpensive car. He had $4,000 to spend.
Slade said the dealership had an older Subaru. Unlike some other cars from the dealership, this car was a mechanic’s special. He explained this meant the customer was taking the risk of a vehicle and said it was a way to help customers with limited budgets.
The documents for this kind of car are hot pink and explain the car is sold as it is, said Slade. After purchasing the vehicle, Slade said the customer came back “emotionally charged” and wanted to return the car. At that point, Slade said the cash had already been deposited.
“We could not calm him down,” said Slade. The way Slade told it, the dealership was willing to “solve the problem” through different options. But, Slade said the customer “storm(ed) out of the office,” and allegedly used expletives and said he was going to drive through the front doors.
According to Slade, employees working at the car dealership moved away from the front door after the customer allegedly said he would drive the car through the front doors. Slade said nobody working at the dealership was injured.
“The sentiment of ours is we do really feel bad for this customer,” said Slade, explaining they want their customers to be happy. “We wish him well, we wish him the best.”
According to the Sandy police, the investigation revealed more than $5,000 to the building and to a different car on the sales floor. Police said the estimated cost of damage is around $10,000.
Murray has been charged with one count of felony criminal mischief, one count of Class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment and one count of Class A misdemeanor economic interruption.