A Lamborghini Gallardo was destroyed by a group of men in the Chinese city of Qindao. The owner of the Italian sports car decided to smash it to show his disappointment with Lamborghini.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was bought six months ago, but the engine failed to start on November 29, 2010. The owner contacted the Lamborghini dealer in Qingdao and they transported the Gallardo to their maintenance center. The engine problem wasn’t solved, but instead the bumper and chassis were damaged by the transport. The owner complained by the dealer but they refused to take responsibility in this matter, so the angry owner contacted Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, the brand’s China headquarters, its after-sales service manager for Asia-Pacific region, and the brand’s owner Volkswagen Group, but the problem was not solved.

Angry about the service, the owner felt his consumer rights were ignored. So he decided that the best way to gain attention was to destroy his car on the 15th of March, which is also World Consumer Rights Day. Apparently, he hired people to publicly destroy his car with hammers and make his statement. This protest was made to provoke public support and goad the manufacturer to respect his consumer rights.

It is also interesting to notice that in China, due to protectionist measures, a Lamborghini Gallardo sells for between $ 529,000 and $ 757,000 depending on specification. This makes it a very expensive statement to honor consumer rights and to show off the disappointment about a bad customer experience.

What do you think about this action of the former Gallardo owner? Feel free to share your thoughts.

[Via China Car Times]

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34 COMMENTS

  1. unacceptable, disgusting, stupid, pathetic, infuriating, disrespectful, and childish. O how i would love to run into this guy with no one else around, id rip out his heart and mail it to lamborghini with a little note saying “your welcome”.

  2. He showed them… NOT! Congratulations… You’ll never own a supercar again. Other companies will see this mans actions and won’t sell him one of there exotics. Next, This man also didn’t like his Ferrari 599 GTO because it didn’t have cup holders so he hired the Navy to drop a bomb on it.

  3. OK the history done the circle. Now we are waiting for chineese reply to Lamborghini, as few decades ago replied Lamborghini to Ferrari’s cars… LOL

  4. @jdef90 haha, didn´t think of that but you´re right! let´s see what they´ll come up with. :D

    @others get over it! it´s a disfunctional car. i can´t help admiring the owner´s courage..

  5. @philip it doesnt take any courage to smash up something you own, its just retarded, also it may have been disfunctional but i refuse to believe that the best thing to do was to smash it up. for instance he could have given it to me, id take it apart myself looking for the problem just for fun :D

  6. I bet he won’t get a new exotic for this action (No matter the brand). Seriously that’s a typical idiotic chinese action such as the contract with the 26 new nuclear power plants. Why couldn’t he just sell the car for what it’s worth and buy something else?
    I seriously would hire a bunch of blokes with hammers to do the same with the guy – it has to match somehow.

  7. Actually this video approves that Lamborghini has built a car with strength that take 100’s of hammers smashing it. :)

    So the owner won’t get a new exotic car for this action.

  8. This has been a great thing to show how crappy customer service is with Lamborghini.
    If I still had my Murcielago I’d probably do the same. But I am just happy to be alive.
    Seriously, Lamborghinis are one of the worst manufactured cars on this planet and their customer service are even worse. This Chinese man has my fullest respect and has done the only sensible thing.
    Martin

  9. I think he achieved what he wanted. Now Lambo got a mega big story about their disappointed customer and no fancy commercial can repair that.

    He really had to be disappointed and frustrated to do that.

    I give him a thumbs up!

  10. I can’t believe this is true…After all is a great car, and the owner was stupid enough to destroy it instead off seeling it…If he really want go get rid of the car he sould gave it to me….

  11. I guess the smashed lambo is a fake one.
    He is just making his protest public.
    Hiring smashers and media is a cheaper way of getting lambo mgt attention.
    The owner is not that stupid to destroy his treasured car.
    The real one could still be in his garage. Hopefully lambo will ship him a brand new car.
    Else he will continue a smear campaign.

  12. Finally, a man stand for his right to get the best service for what he paid lots of money. Sure, it is a great car, but I think he made a reputation damage ro Lamborghini.

  13. Good for him to have the balls to do this. I think it came down to the principle of the matter more than the car itself. He obviously has the means to afford to do this. If I paid that much money for a car, I would expect the manufacturer to provide exceptional service. That’s part of the prestige of owning such a car. I’m sure he tried to resolve the matter with the manufacturer and got no where. I’m sure for him, to be able to make a public statement and vent his frustration and disappointment was well worth the money. Good for him for having the guts to back up how he felt !!!

  14. Absolutely agree with all you guys supporting a principle. A product is as good as the company that’s behind it. There’s absolutely no excuse for the company to not be able to fix such an important issue especially after just 6 months of purchase. Even Hyundai would have been right on it. It’s definitely a waste of a great car, but face it, it’s NOT a Da Vinci and there are a lot more where it came from (Gallardo is the Lambo’s most produced model to date). Yet, it takes a lot to make a point these days and this guys has certainly done so. And for those who’s disillusioning that no company’s going to sell him another super car? Guess again. If you have the money to pay $700000 for something that cost $250000-$350000, no one is going to stop him. As a matter of fact, if I were a reputable car company I would actually get in front of the line to sell this guy just to prove how much better my car and my services are!!! BTW, he probably just ordered the McLaren MP4-12 and the 458 Italia… !!

  15. This is relative to the average guy upset about his cellphone dropping calls or glitching and just stomps the hell out of it :) I dont think he has anything against the car he didn’t want to be ignored by the company who should of been helping him out with the engine trouble, I’m sure he might have a few back up cars to drive so hes not worried about that lol

  16. its not even a new model… its 2007 who knows how the car was treated dumb chinaman maby put some mobil1 in the engine stupid and learn how to shift duhhhh…. dont use that made in Taiwan oil thats just shitty

  17. Show them, Mr Chinaman!
    Sellers, respect customers or your marketing will be dead! I think this guy will show Lamborghini that a cheap Chinese made sprot car will worth more for your buck!

  18. One of my friends was telling me what it costs to own one of these, ridiculous. Said he spent 8 grand on changing a clutch. For comparison it costs me 1,100 on my porsche to change the clutch and flywheel at the dealership.

  19. I think this is brilliant. For 500K he shouldn’t have to make this kind of statement. I like this, it’s a smart way to solve his problem and protesting in this manner educates and benefits everyone when dealing with the company. The car is exceedingly overpriced in the first place.

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