Caught by the dashcam

After taking his Mustang GT to the dealership for a wheel alignment, the car’s owner decided to check his dashcam, and he discovered that a couple of the dealership employees had taken his car out for a high-speed joyride on narrow urban streets.

Luckily they didn’t wreck the car, but they clearly put a lot of needless wear and tear on it. This abbreviated video doesn’t contain it, but a longer version records one employee telling the other to stop burning the clutch, because he can smell it.

The dealership eventually cut a check for a full refund, and claims to have fired the offenders, but… what about damage to this guy’s clutch? I think that if he went to Small Claims Court with this video, he would have a slam-dunk victory for actual damages to his car.

Here is the abbreviated version, as reported on TV news:

And, if you have 16 1/2 minutes, here is the complete video:

Every performance car owner’s worst nightmare!

Corvettes have a valet mode (since 2015) that can record video, audio and telemetry. The owner can catch anyone abusing his Vette when he sets valet mode before turning the keys over. I wonder if any other vehicles use a system like this.

I think the guy’s problem is that he submitted a demand letter with a laundry list of maintenance items that he wanted the dealership to do for free. New brakes, new tires, etc.

I think if he’d just demanded the clutch and the diagnostic fee charged by the 2nd dealership he used to have it checked for damage, he might have gotten it. From where I sit, the free alignment is unnecessary because the dealership performed it. He got what he paid for. Replace the clutch and get on with life…

The valet mode was introduced in the 1990 ZR-1 model. There were 2 injectors per cylinder on that DOHC Lotus designed engine and the valet key turned half off. Dropped HP from 380 to about 200. No dash cam though.

I thought if anyone would know, you would. I got my info from a dealer web site in Miami, FL.

1 Like