Dealer Employees Take $97K Car for Joyride, Disastrously

One might hope that if you plunk down a LOT of money for a car, it wouldn't need to see the dealer with less than 1,000 miles on it. One might also hope that if you tell the dealership that "under no circumstances was any employee to take the vehicle off the lot," the employees of said dealership wouldn't take those instructions as "go on a high-speed joyride, lose control of the car, and total it." Yet here we are, reports Automotive News. The lowdown:

• The car: The vehicle in question was a 2018 Chevy Camaro ZL1E Hendrick Edition with 989 miles on the odometer and appraised at around $97,000.

• The problem: The Camaro wouldn't start, so owner Kenny Habul brought it into H&L Chevrolet in Darien, Connecticut, in January with the above instructions.
• The much, much bigger problem: Service adviser Mathew Sebastian and another employee decided to take the Camaro out for a 90mph fun run on I-95, lost control, hit a guardrail, and totaled the relatively rare muscle car.
• The fallout: Sebastian was ticketed for failing to stay in his lane.
• The much, much bigger fallout: Habul has sued the dealership and Sebastian in Stamford District Superior Court, alleging "deliberate and reckless" behavior and "highly unreasonable conduct." He's holding the dealership accountable as Sebastian's employer, and alleging that H&L failed to properly oversee "the simple task of diagnosing and repairing a broken clutch switch." He's seeking an unknown amount of compensatory and punitive damages, reports Jalopnik, where Andy Kalmowitz has some opinions.

(More stupidity stories.)