ASPIRATIONAL auto buyers on Phuket will be fascinated by this week's tale of the Lamborghini owner from China. He was so incensed at the lack of efficient after-sales service that he organised a team of heavy-set men with sledgehammers to bludgeon the Lambo to death in public.

Only a multi-millionaire could afford to wreak that kind of vengeance to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day. And surely only a Chinese millionaire would go to the trouble.

The smashing event has resonance on Phuket because Rolls Royce is about to join a selection of classy marques that have become available on the island for just a few weeks now.

GM Saksri Kerdphol probably does not anticipate that kind of vexed relationship with her customers, which is one reason why the after-sales service at Autoexpress Phuket is being made a priority.

Nobody who shells out a vast sum for a vehicle expects to find it being belted with sledgehammers. They want it hammering down the highway.

While there don't appear to be wonderful places on and around Phuket for the owners of sleek machines to unleash big donks at 200 or 300 kph, drivers who admire these beasts inevitable find a way.

Phuketwan once rounded a bend in Phang Nga to be confronted by a Ferrari being driven at high speed and swerving from side to side without flipping . . . just because it could.

No doubt the driver was from Bangkok, where Autoexpress already has four outlets. Phuket drivers are expected to behave with a much more mature approach, being the caring, considerate people that they are.

The Rolls Royce should certainly attract interest from March 31 when the Autoexpress showroom formally opens on the bypass road - now there's a stretch of interesting open space - but oddly enough, it's the Hummer on display that so far has high horsepower admirers captivated.

Along with the Hummer you'll find a selection of Benzes, three VWs, a trio of Mini Coopers, a couple of Porsches, a Peugeot, an Audi and even a Lexus or two at the showroom.

For those whose aspirations can be converted into ownership, Autoexpress can bring in cars by air from other showrooms within three days if the model and color is in stock.

If not, the wait might be a little longer. And buyers of grand marques are, Khun Saksri assured us, always careful, considerate drivers.

The fascination with driving is universal. Jack Kerouac probably put it best when he wrote of the main character in 'On The Road:' ''Dean was never happier than when he had four wheels on the road and one in his hands.''

One lucky auto buyer is likely to win a free trip to Germany or Britain to tour the factory of their choice in a lottery soon.

Meanwhile, Khun Saksri is paying a lot of attention to the garage and service centre now under construction.

As for the Chinese millionaire and the battered $700,000 Lamborghini, we rather hope he's gone back to a bicycle. If not, we wonder what he's driving now.