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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
An angry car owner hired three men to smash up his luxury Maserati with sledgehammers outside the company’s show room in a protest at 'poor customer service.'
The owner, identified only by his surname Wang, saw his £276,000 model turned into wreck in Qingdao, China,
According to the Xinhua news agency, the owner had been charged for a new part, even though an old one had been used during car repairs.
In a bid to draw attention to his plight, Mr Wang ordered the unusual protest outside the Qingdao International Convention Centre on the same day as the start of the International Auto Show.
'I hope foreign luxury car producers acknowledge clearly that Chinese consumers are entitled to get the service that is commensurate with the brand,' Mr Wang told the Qingdao Morning Post, according to Agence France-Presse.
The supercar was draped in a banner accusing the Italian manufacturer of poor decision-making.
According to Car News China Mr Wang, had been in a longstanding feud with the dealership spanning more than two years.
In 2011, a businessman from Qingdao named Han Nan hired men to annihilate his $750,000 Lamborghini.
He was reportedly fed up with a mechanic who couldn't fix an engine problem, so he decided to have the car smashed in front of a crowd on World Consumer Rights Day.
Corrupt business owners in China are nothing new. There are businesses cheating customers by selling fake products to them all
the time. Old parts for a Maserati? M'eh.
Chemicals in milk. Fake LV and Gucci bags. Even fake lamb meat at farmer's markets.
The list goes on and on.
It is sad to see the owner choosing to smash up a good car to prove a point. Posted via RS Mobile
It is sad to see the owner choosing to smash up a good car to prove a point. Posted via RS Mobile
That's the point isn't it? No matter how it looks on the outside, it's not quite a good car anymore if shoddy workmanship and maintenance goes into ruining the car mechanically. (or probably in this case, the car is more trouble than its worth; no matter how exponentially valuable the car originally is)
I can understand these guys to a MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH lesser degree. More often than not with electronics, it doesn't matter how expensive it initially is, if it doesn't work properly, it's nothing but a useless brick and I throw it around like one too.
Obviously these guys are at a league further above.
That's the point isn't it? No matter how it looks on the outside, it's not quite a good car anymore if shoddy workmanship and maintenance goes into ruining the car mechanically. (or probably in this case, the car is more trouble than its worth; no matter how exponentially valuable the car originally is)
I can understand these guys to a MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH lesser degree. More often than not with electronics, it doesn't matter how expensive it initially is, if it doesn't work properly, it's nothing but a useless brick and I throw it around like one too.
Obviously these guys are at a league further above.
But that's the problem... it's not that the car wasn't working, he's upset that he was charged for a new part when a used part was installed instead.
how did that cost 276,000 pounds..you can get a used early production quattroporte for 35k..
Gather round kids, it's time for "why do things in China cost so damn much?"
The Sparknotes version is this. The Chinese government slaps stiff import taxes on foreign-made cars, and equally stiff taxes on luxury goods. The post-Cultural Revolution phenomenon of conspicuousness to the point of tackiness means that no Chinese would want to be seen with an older Quattroporte, a car that costs less than $45k in Canada. They want the 2013 Quattroporte GT-S with all the options, to be seen in. That's why it costs £275k. (A new S500 costs 2.1 million RMB (just over $350k) which is triple the cost of the equivalent in Canada (the S550).
By the way it's the same in all of Asia, steep taxes to protect local industries or encourage public transport. The most extreme example: In Singapore a Honda Accord costs S$150k. But Singapore's subway is amazing, it blows Skytrain out of the goddamn water.
On a side note: Because China is still a poor country (the average factory worker in Beijing or Shanghai makes less than $300 a month), someone with a new model luxury vehicle is really, really, really, REALLY fucking rich. And they will pay in cash for these cars, with bags full of yuan in some cases. These mega-ballers are more often than not connected to the Communist Party, either they own businesses that are in favour with the CCP or they are corrupt politicians themselves. They will send their kids abroad to study, I have heard anecdotes of high school kids getting their own house in Shaughnessey or Dunbar, all paid in cash by their parents. Many are good people I'm sure, but some are spoiled rotten ("My father is Li Gang", the Highway 99 street racers, the 599 GTO crash in Singapore).
Just to show you how fast China's economy is growing, 400,000 Audis were sold in China and HK in 2012, compared to 140,000 in the US.
Last edited by BurnoutBinLaden; 05-16-2013 at 10:36 PM.
But that's the problem... it's not that the car wasn't working, he's upset that he was charged for a new part when a used part was installed instead.
I'm pretty sure that's just ONE of the things that pushed him over the edge. To give up on an asset of such value, there must've been a mountain of other problems and complexes.
It is absolutely essential that companies doing business in China, provide the same level of service, as they do elsewhere, to their customers in China. Its about time that the Chinese people, share in the access to quality products, and service. They deserve this access for their hard work in creating the economic success story that China has become. This should apply as well for less well heeled customers. The quality of China's own products are improving rapidly, and before very long will be a match for products produced anywhere.