AFP - Getty Images Men using sledgehammers on a Maserati car outside the Qingdao International Convention Center in Qingdao, Shandong province, on May 14, 2013.

AFP - Getty Images

A wealthy Chinese Maserati owner hired four sledgehammer-wielding men to smash up his $420,000 supercar in protest at poor customer service, Agence France-Presse reports.

The owner staged the dramatic intervention outside a convention center in Qingdao where a major auto show was being held. Local newspapers reported that his dispute with a Maserati dealership began when he took the car in for repairs and was charged for a new spare part even though a used part had been fitted.

In 2011, the city saw a similar stunt when the owner of a Lamborghini ordered the destruction of his vehicle after a service failed to get it running smoothly.