--- title: "What’s the Pettiest Thing You’ve Done to Get Back at a Dealership?" date: "2024-12-14" modified: "2024-12-14" authors: - name: "Beverly Braga" job_title: "Weekend Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/beverly-braga" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/whats-the-pettiest-thing-youve-done-to-get-back-at-a-dealership" categories: - "News" tags: - "Dealership Stories" - "Question Of The Day" --- # What’s the Pettiest Thing You’ve Done to Get Back at a Dealership? ![]() *\Peter Dazeley via Getty Image\* Who likes buying new stuff only to find out the item is an absolute dud when they get home? Any hand-raisers? Anyone? Bueller? An even bigger pain point would be if said purchase were a car. In an [extreme case of buyer's remorse](), a [Subaru]() owner recently drove his "lemon" into the dealership that sold it to him when they said he couldn't return it. Contemptuous or cuckoo? We'll leave that for a judge to decide, but it does bring to light the frustrating reality of buyer beware. Sure, we've got [lemon laws]() to protect us from disingenuous purchases, but to counter that is the "fine print" that protects the seller. This got us wondering: What's the pettiest thing you've personally done to get back at a dealership? "Borrow" a bunch of pens from the front desk? Crank call the managers to ask them if their refrigerators are running? Pocket a shift knob from the showroom? Car dealerships have typically been a pretty universal target of consumer scorn. New-age automakers like [Tesla]() and Lucid have attempted to improve the car buying experience by foregoing traditional brick-and-mortar third-party dealer showrooms for its own "galleries" and "studios."This direct-to-consumer sales model has given some control back to consumers, but the irony is that it also leaves all of the [product control with the automaker](). Just the same, you gotta buy a car from somewhere. And whether new or new to you, should the vehicle turn out to be anything other than what was advertised, what's your course of payback, if any? Obviously, we don't condone [revenge-crashing into things](), but we do support anger management courses. Anyway, there are ways to fight back that avoid physical injury or a criminal charge, like a zero-star Yelp review or a social media post written in all caps, but slashing tires and keying cars are other options angry customers have taken. Not by me, mind you. All I've ever done is dissuade family and friends from shopping at AutoNation Toyota Cerritos. Why? Oh, the standard sleazy salesman story. Nevertheless, with receipts in hand, how would you [retaliate]()? https://www.instagram.com/p/DDaJdeRy2cT/ ## Author Born and raised in Hawaii, Beverly has been a prolific and published creative writer since her teens. As a contributor to The Drive, Beverly covers the weekend shift, blogging about all things automotive, mobility, transportation, and topics in-between. Currently a digital nomad, Beverly's only constant is her car, a second-generation Mazdaspeed3. Even though she's never in one place for too long, her hot hatch always feels like home. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()