In a series of captivating TikTok videos with more than four million views, Mazda owner Paige (@rawr_its_paige) recounts a harrowing experience involving her car that she says the dealership used overnight without her permission. The narrative captured in those videos paints a disturbing picture of dealer practices and has sparked much discussion among the audience regarding the integrity of automotive service.
The incident began when Paige detailed her initial suspicions on her TikTok account. After dropping off his car at a Mazda dealership for maintenance to repair a crack in the windshield and update some software, he detected activity reported through his My Mazda app. “I was given a notification that the doors were unlocked and my fuel gauge was only at 81%,” Paige explains in the video. These alerts were alarming as I had filled the tank before performing the service.
Digging deeper, Paige used the app’s mapping feature, which she needed to use right now, and discovered that her car was parked 30 miles from the dealership, at a residential address. “It’s 11:30 p. m. So I’m trying to decide: Do I call the police?Do I have to report theft? She recounts the drama that unfolds. The car returned to the dealership early the next day, but the incident left Paige in shock and wondering about the legality and ethics of the dealership’s actions.
“Yes, you deserve to be worried,” said one speaker. No, the agent should not allow that. I suggest you call Mazda Corporate and tell them what happened. Your app deserves to have recorded the message, so you can just show it. “Tell them where you went and when. It would also touch the police and your insurance. In addition, you deserve to have earned a document with a timestamp stating that you left the car at the brokerage for repair.
“I’ve already spotted my car at Target,” one user said. “I started taking pictures when a guy came up to me. He smiled and said, “You like the car, huh!One woman had a prophetic message: “Oh, just buckle up. This is just the beginning of the bad scenario for Mazda dealers. I buy one just for them.
Confronting the dealership the next day, Paige’s interactions were filled with frustration. The service manager’s explanation—that a new worker had driven his car home to diagnose a problem with the check engine light—didn’t fit his service requests. Paige’s skepticism grew as she walked around with no transparent answers: “I was looking to start the engine gently. . . There was nothing with the engine,” he says in one of the exchanges.
The situation escalated when Paige learned that confidential confidential information was at risk. The documents in his glove compartment contained enough detail to allow for identity theft, and his vehicle’s insurance would not cover incidents once the car left the dealership’s property. The videos detail their demands for liability, their interactions with dealership workers, and their growing fear that their situation is not isolated.
“This whole scenario is strange,” Paige says as she documents her multiple visits to the dealership to fix the problem. She explains how the dealership failed to properly secure his vehicle on several occasions, even leaving it unlocked overnight with the internal keys after promising it would be stored safely. This oversight compounded her distrust and frustration, fueling her determination to seek justice and prevent similar incidents from happening to others.
However, many intrigued viewers felt a “180” shift in their power and habit between the fifth and sixth videos, suggesting that something in the story had been replaced.
Paige’s ordeal resonated with many onlookers, some of whom shared their reports about dealerships misusing their visitors’ cars. This collective outcry has highlighted an industry-wide perspective that technologies such as vehicle tracking apps are now bringing to light. Paige’s story underscored the importance of transparency and visitor service, which was sorely lacking at her Mazda dealership.
In one of her most recent updates, Paige noted that she had been in contact with the Mazda company. However, she remains cautious about the authenticity of the interactions and the potential consequences. “Do we think this is the genuine Mazda USA?” asked, reflecting on the current demanding situations when dealing with giant companies and the impersonal nature of those disputes.
Paige’s TikTok saga is a warning about the day-to-day jobs car dealerships have for their consumers and the efforts Americans would possibly have to make to make sure their rights are respected. It also questions the practices of using consumers’ cars for purposes other than legal services, a practice that, while not unique to this Mazda dealership, is arguably under scrutiny through the force of social media and virtual tracking tools. As Paige’s story unfolds, she is a stark reminder of the vigilance consumers want to maintain and the potential strength of the network to stand up to corporate negligence.
The Daily Dot reached out to Paige to send her a TikTok comment and an email from Mazda.