Dude…Where’s My Car?

Ok for those of you who didn’t read the story in the PD, here’s the gist of it:

A guy brings his $100,000 BMW to Prestige Imports in Santa Rosa for some warranty work. They later call him and say that he needs to put some more miles on the car and bring it back for them to properly diagnose/fix said problem. So he tells one of the guys in the service department, “YOU drive the car”.

Here is where the stories differ. Owner says he told the serviceman to drive it and take care of it since it was Easter weekend. Prestige says the guy told the serviceman to take the car HOME for the weekend and drive it as he wished.

Long story short? Police find the car crashed near Apple Valley and no driver to be found. They contact the owner who says he thinks his car is still at the dealership. Hilarity ensues…

Now of course, he wants Prestige to pay off the lease and get him a new car. Prestige fired their employee but says that the owner showed poor judgement in letting the guy take the car…But wait, he didn’t let him take the car…Or DID he?

I can’t really put my 2 cents in until the truth comes out. But at this point, as out of character as it may sound, I’m siding with the driver on this one. REGARDLESS, this guy represented the dealership and a car owner should be able to trust who they bought their car from (especially a$100k car). Prestige should save some face and have their insurance handle this. Otherwise they’ll end up with EGG on their face from bad press.

Better question, what do YOU think?