Police were called to Diablo Audi at 2001 Market St. around 9:30 a.m. Saturday in response to a report that 98 cars at the dealership had been keyed on all sides, police Cpl. Kerry Cerletti said today.
Cerletti said the vandalism happened between 7 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, and that the damaged cars were new and used vehicles for sale, as well as cars that had been dropped off by their owners to be serviced.
"They keyed every single car on our lot," said a woman who answered the phone at the dealership today.
Sales manager Chris Schniegenberg said he arrived at work and noticed that one car had been keyed; he then noticed a second.
"I thought that it was only two cars and somebody said 'There's another one out front,'" he said.
He called the vandalism "mind boggling" and said employees are working with police to determine who is responsible.
"You never really know what happens in the minds of people but there's a couple of prospects that we're investigating," Schniegenberg said.
Police estimate the damage at about $500,000 but Schniegenberg said it will cost $8,000 to $10,000 to repair each car, which could bring the cost to nearly $1 million.
He said the dealership remains open for business today.
"We're still selling cars," he said. "The customers are very understanding."
