Gardaí are using CCTV footage to try and identify three teenagers who slashed the tyres of about 50 cars in Dublin on at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
The bulk of the damage - estimated at upwards of €50,000 - was done in a brightly-lit yard only a few hundred metres from Terenure Garda station. The attackers are clearly visible on images captured by several CCTV cameras. Gardaí say that 20 cars in nearby streets were also damaged, and the vehicles appear to have been chosen based on their value.
The trio, who appear to be aged about 17, targeted expensive vehicles such as Mercedes, BMW and even a Rolls Royce.
"They left the small cars," said Joe Turley, the dealer principal at Rathdown Motors in Terenure, where the display yard is now filled with vandalised cars.
"The cars targeted were all high-powered cars, large cars like Jeeps, BMWs, Mercedes, Jaguars, Grand Cherokees, Voyagers, people carriers."
He said that the vandals slashed 68 tyres on 29 cars in his yard and had effectively stopped his business from operating until he can order and fit replacement tyres.
"The tyres alone will cost €20,000," said Mr Turley, "and that's not counting the cost of removing and fitting the tyres and rebalancing the vehicles. We've sold cars and we can't get rid of them because our yard is completely blocked."
It would take some time to repair the cars, many of which need specialist tyres, he said.
"Where can you get 68 tyres from?" he asked.
Mr Turley said although about two-thirds of the vehicles damaged in his yard were second-hand, they all had new tyres. "The cars are fully serviced, which means that we put new tyres on them," he said.
Insurance would cover some of his loss, he said, but it would not go near the total value of the damage, labour and lost sales. "We'll have to foot the very large part of the bill," he said.
Mr Turley said he was relieved that it did not appear the dealership was specifically targeted, but said he was furious at the parents of the young vandals.
"What were their parents doing?" he asked. "Why were they out at that hour? I think the parents have to be held accountable."
Gardaí will not reveal whether they have any suspects, saying only that the investigation into the incident of vandalism is continuing.