6:48 am, December 27, 2022
Car Dealer likes to stay on top of the news here in the UK – but sometimes there’s the odd headline from other parts of the world that are just too good to ignore.
That is why, earlier this year, we decided to start producing a monthly round-up of some of the most far-fetched, yet true, stories from around the globe.
The lists have included mass shootings, sinkholes and even witchcraft so we have decided to recap some of the most unbelievable and strangest stories we have covered from overseas in 2022.
Here are our picks…
‘Witch’ sets fire to used car dealership
Our very first World News round-up was published in August and this bizarre story was certainly one that demanded attention.
Kristy Malzi was charged with reckless burning and terror threats after a rampage at a used car site where her ex-boyfriend worked.
The 47-year-old woman used pages from her witchcraft spell book to set a car alight after escaping from a hospital in Pennsylvania.
She also confronted her former partner with a loaded shotgun before staff forced her away and locked her outside the showroom.
Car dealer sentenced to jail and whipping for cheating customers
Over the course of 2022, we have covered countless cases of dodgy dealers being dealt with by judges in the British legal system.
Most get away with a fine, while some are even jailed, but that is nothing compared to what one dealer in Malaysia got.
Featured in our September round-up, Rizal Othman admitted defrauding three customers into paying more than they needed to for cars.
The 44-year-old was was sentenced to two years in jail and fined RM1,000 (£190) but the judge also ordered that he be whipped.
The now former car salesman was given two strokes of the rotan (whip) to deter him from any future offending.
Woman falls down sinkhole outside showroom
In October, we told you how a woman had a lucky escape when she fell down a sinkhole that suddenly appeared outside a used car dealership in North Carolina.
Kia Long-Gyant had just come out of Frank Myers Auto Maxx, where her car was being detailed, when the hole – about 8ft deep and 15ft wide – opened up.
Winston-Salem firefighters rescued her and she was taken to hospital, having suffered bruises and scrapes but fortunately no broken bones.
In the same round-up we also reported on another sinkhole, which swallowed four vehicles at a dealership in Canada (below).
Ten arrests made after shootout at Saudi car showroom
Police arrested 10 men after a shootout at a car showroom in Saudi Arabia, we reported in November.
A video posted on social media appeared to show shots being fired inside the building and a Mercedes car being torched.
The incident was thought to be related to a drug dispute and nine Saudis were arrested along with one foreign national.
Two people suffered injuries in the attack and required hospital treatment.
#فيديو | ضبط 8 مواطنين ووافد لتورطهم في حادثة إطلاق نار بمعرض للسيارات في #الرياضhttps://t.co/DiV9TUTea7#تم_القبض pic.twitter.com/ETnlD4VW5r
— صحيفة المناطق السعودية (@AlMnatiq) November 7, 2022
Salesman threatened at gunpoint as customer steals car during test drive
In the same article, we reported on a car salesman in Pakistan who was threatened at gunpoint when a masked man posing as a customer stole a Tata during a test drive.
The unidentified man approached an SUV at a Tata Motors showroom claiming he wanted to take it for a drive.
However, when the salesman got close, the customer pulled out a gun and pushed him away before making off in the car.
The incident lead to a police investigation but it is not known whether any arrests have been made.
Man torches dealership over car bought 36 years ago
As well as the witch, there was another arson attack in August when a Jeep owner was so peeved off with the car he bought 36 years ago that he set light to the dealership that sold it to him.
O’Daniel Automart in Indiana sold Dewey Fredrick a Jeep in 1986 that he says had a faulty engine which, he claims, the dealer didn’t put right.
The feud led to the buyer turning up late one evening, opening the fuel cap of the car and sticking a flare in it.
Fredrick was caught by cops and has since been charged with arson.
US car salesman arrested after smashing BMW into a house during test drive
Every car salesman has had a test drive they’d rather forget but for one US dealer it got as bad as it could get.
Published as a story in its own right on the Car Dealer website, the 18-year-old salesman, from Win Auto Plaza in Illinois, was showing two potential buyers a white BMW SUV when he lost control and careered off the road.
He ended up ploughing into a nearby house, where the homeowner was working indoors.
Both the driver and resident escaped unhurt but the two would-be customers were left requiring hospital treatment for minor injuries.
The dealer was charged with reckless driving, disobeying a traffic control device, improper lane use and driving too fast for the conditions.
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