96 MPH Service Department Joyride Caught On Camera

We told you previously about how in-car technology is becoming more and more desired by consumers, however it appears one vehicle tech feature is proving to be a check on dealerships: the dash cam. In this case, a customer drops their vehicle off for service and later found out that it was taken for a ride, which neared triple digit speeds.

Drew Hovorka brought in his 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT in for its 100,000 mile routine maintenance into Gurnee Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram in Gurnee, Illinois. He paid approximately $1,918 for the service and then left his vehicle in the hands of the dealership.

Knowing dealerships typically test-drive a vehicle, Hovorka wanted to know how his car was driven so he reviewed his dash cam video. The results weren’t good. The seatbelt alarm was going off during the test drive indicating that the driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Then there was the speeding. The individual driving the vehicle, a service department employee, was recorded driving 82 and 96 miles per hour in an area where the limit is 50. It was obviously very reckless and a subject we have reported on previously. However, what’s worse is that according to reports, the dealer hasn’t responded well to this public relations nightmare. If fact, they’ve barely responded at all.

The store has offered no official response about the incident, which has been picked up by major media outlets. The situation escalated from an initial complaint on the part of the consumer into something more. The couple asked the dealership to deal with the situation somehow and we’re told to deal with it on their own … They did. They called the local news and now the sheriff’s office is looking into the incident. The dealership replies to the initial complaint from Hovorka’s wife on Facebook, however, that was the only response that DrivingSales News was able to find.

The decision on the part of the store to not respond publicly has made its way online. On Yelp and Facebook consumers are vowing to never do business with that dealership. It appears the actions of one dealership employee have cost this dealership business through the power of social media and online reviews.

What do you think of this incident? What could the dealer to respond to the incident? It’s obviously not wise to drive nearly 100 miles per hour in a customer’s car, much less without a seat belt. However, it happened. What should the dealer do in order to practice proper reputation management?