While Zhang was away on a business trip, four local boys, none older than ten, had been using his red Ferrari 488 GTB as their personal playground in Kunming, Yunnan province. CCTV footage showed the children sitting on the windscreen, walking the roofline, sliding down the rear glass, and jabbing the bodywork with bamboo poles. The car sustained scratches across the hood, roof, fenders, taillights, and windows, along with a cracked front bumper.

The car is valued at 3.6 million yuan - roughly $530,000. Facing a factory repair estimate exceeding 100,000 yuan, Zhang opted for an independent shop using non-OEM parts, reducing the total cost to 29,360 yuan ($4,300). That's him meeting the parents more than halfway before a single conversation had even taken place.

Zhang says he first tried to settle quietly, being a father himself. Two rounds of discussion followed. The parents offered 5,000 yuan ($736) and, according to Zhang, 'never voluntarily brought the children to apologize,' prompting him to file a civil lawsuit seeking the full cost of repairs. Under Chinese law, when children under 14 cause damages, civil litigation is the main avenue for compensation. Guardians can be held liable unless they prove proper supervision - which, given the footage, may be difficult.

The 488 GTB features a twin-turbo V8 with 661 horsepower, produced from 2015 to 2020. It's not a collector oddity - just a mid-engined Ferrari common enough to park outdoors, yet expensive enough that doing so carries real risk. The real story: Zhang bent over backward to keep this out of court, and the families read that as an opening to lowball. The lawsuit was the only logical end.