Car Dealership Refunds a College Student with Bags of Pennies

Jul 24, 2014 10:17 AM EDT | Jordan Ecarma

A car dealership owner who was ordered by the state to refund a college student's car warranty apparently expected her to accept bags of pennies.

Irena Mujakovic, the owner of a 2003 Saab, bought her vehicle from Holiday Motors of North Florida in January but later had multiple problems with it, First Coast News reported.

"It had transmission problems," Mujakovic said. "The message said gearbox malfunction."

The dealership repaired the Saab, and the international college student purchased a warranty on the vehicle, bringing it in again when the transmission went out later.

"First time I paid $300. Second time, they asked me for $400. saying how the warranty doesn't cover labor," said Mujakovic, "I thought it unfair because nobody said that to me."

Mujakovic didn't exactly have money to spare, either.

"That's actually money that I borrowed to pay them because I don't have it. My tuition is very expensive," she told First Coast News.

After the student filed a complaint with the DMV's district office, officials investigated and ordered the dealership to give her a refund.

But when Mujakovic went to pick up her money, she was in for an unpleasant surprise.

"There were some one dollar bills, but mostly pennies, like two full bags," she said. Because she didn't know if the amount was correct without counting every penny, she left the bags at the dealership.

Ed Di Miranda, who runs Holiday Motors, said the money came from containers where he keeps spare change and only about $85 is in coins, while the rest is in dollar bills.

"The warranty did not cover labor and I failed to write that in and that was her loophole," he said. "I am doing what DMV asked me to do. It is legal tender."

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