- When taken to the dealer for repairs, the modified Camaro ZL1 1LE had just 989 miles.
- The owner allegedly requested the muscle car not be driven off the lot.
- He is now seeking restitution for the cost of the car, as well as court costs and legal fees.
In January, Kenny Habul dropped off his low-mileage, tuned 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at a dealership in Darien, Connecticut, because it wouldn’t start. He insisted no dealer employee drive it off the lot.
However, the allure of the powerful sports car reportedly proved too much to resist for service advisor Matthew Sebastien, who allegedly took it for a joyride and subsequently wrecked the muscle car.
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This series of events is enough to anger any car enthusiast and has prompted Habul to sue the dealership and Sebastien for wrecking his Camaro, known as a ‘Hendrick Edition’ in the complaint. Trust in car dealerships is already in a precarious position and incidents like this are likely to only further heighten tensions between car owners and showrooms across the U.S.
In a negligence and recklessness suit filed against H & L Chevrolet and Sebastian in Stamford District Superior Court, Habul alleges that employees were instructed to diagnose and repair a broken clutch switch and told that “under no circumstances was any employee to take the vehicle off the lot.”
Despite these requests, Sebastian allegedly took the rare Camaro for a joy ride, accelerating up to 89 mph (143 km/h) on I-95, losing control, and slamming into a guardrail, totaling the muscle car.
Data from the Camaro’s track recorder allegedly shows that Sebastian “gunned the engine” just before the crash and wasn’t wearing a seat belt at the time. The Chevy had been valued at $97,000 in a recent appraisal before the crash and, to make matters worse, had just 989 miles (1,591 km) on the clock.
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Habul is seeking restitution for the value of the rare Chevrolet Camaro, in addition to court costs and punitive damages. The lawsuit asserts that H&L Chevrolet needs to pay up and is liable because it is Sebastian’s employer.
The lawsuit adds that police who investigated the crash determined that “the road was clear, and there was no debris on the pavement other than that which resulted from the accident.”
