In a shockingly aggressive and illegal attempt at a product return, a man in the town of Sandy City, Utah attempted to force a refund of a recently purchased, used Subaru with mechanical issues by crashing the car through the front door of the showroom of the dealership from which he bought the car, causing damage and leading to his arrest.
According to local news outlet Fox 13, the man involved was Michael Murray bought a car from Tim Dahle Mazda Southtowne on the morning of Monday, December 9. What he bought was, according to that report from Fox 13, a pre-owned third-generation Subaru Outback. The dealership was located in nearby Murray, Utah.
However, once Mr. Murray got home with his newly fought car, he apparently found mechanical issues of some sort with it and returned to the Tim Dahle Mazda Southtowne dealership, requesting the ability to return the vehicle and get a refund from the dealership; he wanted to undo the transaction and have the dealership take the car back.
Unfortunately for Mr. Murray, however, the dealership insisted that they would not take the car back, as it was sold “as is.” Mr. Murray, who insisted that the car was a lemon, threatened to drive it through the front door of the dealership if they wouldn’t take it back. Management still refused the return, citing the fact that the car was sold “as is.”
At that point, Mr. Murray followed through on his threat and did exactly as he said he would. As shown by video footage of the incident, he floored the Subaru straight through the dealership’s front door and into its showroom, with shards of glass and bits of wall flying as he followed through on his threat and crashed into the dealership.
According to an arrest report filed by the local police, there were seven salesmen near the front door when Mr. Murray crashed through it in his “lemon” Subaru. Fortunately, no one was injured by him during the incident, though they were put at risk and the dealership suffered an estimated $10,000 in damages. Mr. Murray was arrested, booked into jail, and now faces two charges, felony criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
Dealership employee Aylin Hernandez works at the Murray dealership and spoke to the media, saying that she was grateful not to be there during the horrible Monday incident. She said, Fox 13 reports, “What would’ve happened? Who knows — it could’ve been fatal.” She added, “He came back but with a rage… without thinking, he just acted out on rage.” Watch the incident here:
Sandy, Utah: A man attempted to return a car with mechanical issues to a dealership, but it was refused as the vehicle was sold “as is.”
Police later arrested the man.
Video: @ppv_tahoe pic.twitter.com/zfdR5B4AMF
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 10, 2024
The Utah Division of Consumer Protection, in its section on cars, provides, “There is NO three-day right to cancel or rescind an automobile purchase.” It adds, “Once you purchase a vehicle, you assume responsibility for it. Some sellers may have policies allowing for the return of a vehicle within a determined time period, but this is decided by the seller and is NOT required by law. Typically, sellers who do offer such a policy will only accept returns in exchange for credit towards the purchase of a different vehicle.”
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