Video: Disgruntled customer rams Miami showroom, torches dealership housing Ford GT
It's been a
bad season for coastal Ford dealers with GTs in their showrooms. Back in December, we brought you the story of some
singularly determined thieves who stole one of the
Blue Oval's supercars in stunning fashion, using other vehicles as battering rams to break out of a locked
showroom and secured lot.
Yesterday, a North Miami man, apparently unhappy with the deal he received on a new Ford Escape the day prior, snapped after unsuccessfully going to the dealer to try and renegotiate. George Maretti subsequently rammed his SUV through the showroom's windows, whereupon he "calmly" doused his vehicle and the (occupied) dealership with an accelerant, lighting the place on fire. No injuries were reported, but a Ford GT in Gulf livery was among the 11 cars sustaining heavy damage. The insurance tab is being estimated at around one million dollars.
Metro Ford's disgruntled customer was later found by police walking down the street, allegedly yelling "Kill me, kill me," but he gave up without (further) incident. Subsequently charged with First Degree Arson and felony criminal mischief, he was later released on bond.
(More details including video of the carnage after the jump)
[Source: CBS-4]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Clyde 2:41PM (2/06/2006)
Just imagine how much more pissed off he'd have
been if he'd have waited until the 7th recall.
Serves him right for buying an inferior car in the first place.
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Joe 4:01PM (2/06/2006)
There is a popular misconceptions that all dealerships are scheisters... I would say the typical buyer makes it more stressful than it needs to be... In all honesty this "I'll go to the dealership to gain info" is the first part where the customer derails themselves... Everything you need and more is on the internet... If the buyer would stay at home and narrow down a list, plus take into consideration what the car is typically selling for and build their own payments at home to where they would be happy... They could then narrow their search to 2-3 cars and wind up saving themselves and the salespeople alot of aggravation... The problem is that when a customer makes a deal, two days later they get a little buyers' remorse and then they start with the 'What ifs'... This fear that the customer has of a dealership, or the idea that they will go in armed with missles doesn't help any part of the process, just go in being realistic about what you, what you can afford and then be firm on how you want it... I always say the best deal is the one that leaves both sides of the table happy... Dealerships should be allowed to make a reasonable profit just like the buyer should be able to have a decent deal... As for this ecstacy over 'One price' or 'Pure Pricing' all cars have that, its called MSRP, some carlines just are willing to let you negotiate that, others don't, don't blame the process for the availible discount... You should be thanking the dealership for not having one-price when you think about it...
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justin 11:50AM (2/07/2006)
A man crashes into a dealership, sets fire to his car and others,(including a collectors item), puts innocent people in harms way and some people want to agree with him. For those of you that sympathise with him, I suggest buying a bike or taking the bus, because you obviously do not have the mental capacity to buy or drive a car either. I hope he does all thirty years; the tax money auto dealers generate for the state will help pay for it anyway.
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John H 12:58PM (2/07/2006)
For all of you sympathizing with this nut case... Are you all just as crazy as he is?!?!?!?!
You are all so educated on the car business, do you think that it is even remotely possible to "screw" someone bad enought that this should be expected? New or used, foreign or domestic, completely rediculous! I personally liked the comment about the Cheerios, is there not markup in every product you buy as a consumer? When was the last time you went to buy a pair of jeans and tried to negotiate from sticker or even sale price? MSRP is your one price shopping. If you pay sticker price for everything else why should I discount mine??? But I do! The market of today is very competitive! Whether you buy F & I products or not, you still agree to a fair price for the car, the warranties, the theft protections, and, oh yeah, etc etc etc etc etc. (Sorry you've had it so ruff "Whiplash" you still signed on the dotted line didnt you!!!!!!!!!)
You people piss me off. I work 60+ hours a week and you want me to get paid nothing for it. Next time you have to work overtime at your job, dont expect time and a half for it... In fact why dont you just do it for free.
As far as returning this Escape, I am very curious to know what exactly happened. Even still this guy should not have been able to bond out, he is not sane and I feel is dangerous to society! How long is our country going to look at shit like this like it is not a bad thing? Have we all gone f-in crazy?
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Kris 12:03AM (2/08/2006)
I agree with just about everyone here. He should have walked away when he thought the deal was going to be bad, but as far as burning down a Ford dealership, more power to him. I absolutly hate ford's. I have had 2 of them and both ended up breaking down and being "unfixable" before 130k miles. The Toyota I had on the other hand, which was a 91 Corolla, lasted me until about a week ago and had over 200k miles on it before it decided to quit. I just got a Dodge Dakota, but that is besides the point. I just wanted to give the man kudos for, as Garth Brooks says, "Tear it up, and burn it down."
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Brody 12:12PM (2/08/2006)
Crazy or not, sometimes it takes something like this to shine a light and to prompt the government to do something about the shady deals that go on with dealerships.
It's unfortunate, but hopefully through this guy's drastic actions the consumer will benefit from it. If dealerships were honest and straight forward it would have never happenned.
Further more you can kick a sleeping dog (consumer) so much and eventually he's going to bite the brown stuff out of you.
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Paul 5:27PM (2/08/2006)
maybe it was a ford f150 cruise control switch that really caught fire.
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mark 7:23PM (2/05/2006)
Yet another satisfied Ford customer.. hahaha
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Will 8:28PM (2/05/2006)
i might have to do this with carmax
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Will 8:29PM (2/05/2006)
i might have to do this with carmax
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Buckus 10:59PM (2/05/2006)
This guy only did what everyone else wants to do at the dealership. Why can't it be one price-shopping? I mean, come on, I don't have to negotiate the price on a box of cheerios. The price is right there; if I have enough money and I want the cheerios, we're all set.
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Lithous 11:11PM (2/05/2006)
This guy clearly should have bought a 2006 Saturn VUE. Similar to the Escape but with no hassle pricing.
I wonder if he gets to keep the GT (but with a salvage title of course)?
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Tim UF 12:31AM (2/06/2006)
yeah, perch that on top of the edmunds insideline long term tester ford gt that has bubbling paint issues (warranty covered at least)...:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/LongTerm/articleId=107422
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Fabulo 12:53AM (2/06/2006)
I may be out of my mind, but really, if he did not like the terms of the sale, could he just not walk away?
I probably would. Says omething like: "I'm sorry, but this is not what I consider a good deal. Keep your car, I'll kepp your money"
Then again, the guy might have had a bad day (like his mild turned bad 2 days before the date on the bottle, or his cat puked a giant hairball on the carpet)
I feel for the guy who will pay dearly for his mistake.
Dealership? Nope, not really.
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Corey 2:13AM (2/06/2006)
maybe its a sign that dealers should change the ways they do business. Im just waiting on a mass murder to happen at a dealer over a bad deal.. I should of done that to the p[lace that sold me the crappy Saturn I got now. I only had the car since August, and the VC gasket is leaking, the trunk no longer opens, my 40/60 spilt rear seats are now a 40, my driver window no longer goes down, and my car sparatically shuts off whenever I apply enough of gas.
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Finished.Law.School 2:21AM (2/06/2006)
1. He should have returned the car.
2. He is a jerk for damaging the GT. Especially since Ford is going to stop making them.
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iQuack 2:37AM (2/06/2006)
Wasn't that guy a nut case?
Well, of course he was for buying a Ford in the first place;-).
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Jay 3:04AM (2/06/2006)
I'm not sure if the dealer really boned him on the price or not, but regardless, you don't haggle AFTER you sign the papers to buy something. That's supposed to be done BEFORE you buy. That's the customer's fault. The dealer's not obligated to change the price once the sale is done. They both agreed to it and if he wasn't sure about the price, he should have not signed anything, told them he'd think about it, and gone back later. So I don't feel much remorse for him at all. Sounds like he was a pretty dangerous guy anyway...
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Eric L. 6:18AM (2/06/2006)
Wacko actions aside, I agree with the posts above. Once you sign on the dotted line and hand them the check, the deal is set. The goal of every car dealer is to sell the car for as high a price as possible, and if the customer's goal isn't to buy the car for as low a price as possible, then well, who's fault is that?
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rw 8:21AM (2/06/2006)
A person buys a truck. He does not like the deal and drives onto the showroom floor and sets the place on fire. Wackos on this forum thinks he is normal and this is what you should do because a dealer sold a vehicle. And of course he got screwed by the dealer. Such all knowing people here. I wish I knew this much about other peoples business as you people THINK you know about mine. Oh and the obligatory shot at American cars has to come in to play. Still cannot figure what that thing is on the back of Toyota showroom is with all those Toyotas lifted into the air. Can't be a service department to fix broken Toyotas? Nah just does not happen.
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