Some of the vehicles have been damaged beyond repair.
The incident took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning at GM Motors, which works out of the Thompson Motors site on Route de L’Eglise in Castel.
In total, 18 vehicles, about half the vehicles on the site, were damaged in what looked likely to be a targeted attack. Some cars had every window smashed in, with wing mirrors snapped off, as well as dents made across their bodywork, caused by repeated blows from a heavy object.
The neighbour who raised the alarm had described hearing a noise like fireworks, and the sound of windscreens ‘popping’ as they shattered.
GM Motors director Michael Graham was woken at home by police officers at 5.15am.
‘I got here at 6.15 and was absolutely gobsmacked, it was much worse than I was imagining,’ he said.
‘We have never had anything like this happen before. They have really gone to town – it is just so wrong.’
Most of the cars damaged were for sale, but there were also others waiting for repair or service.
Mr Graham estimated that the damaged cars were worth a combined £120,000. Although he is covered by insurance there were obvious implications for his business.
‘Some of the cars are simply write-offs,’ he said.
‘We are remaining open and hoping the service side of the business will keep us going.’
Staff spent yesterday clearing up broken glass and trying to contact customers whose cars had been damaged.
‘Yesterday was about processing what had happened,’ said Mr Graham.
‘I’ve just got one more person whose car was in for servicing to contact and I’ve also got unfortunately got to ring someone who should have been collecting their new car today.
‘Everyone has been so supportive, they know it’s not my fault, and at least it’s only damaged cars and no one was hurt.’
The garage is currently hard to access as roadworks have closed the street outside down to the Castel Church crossroads, making it even more likely that the garage had been targeted deliberately.
‘I’m limited by what I can say at the moment due to the active investigation,’ said Mr Graham.
‘But it is true we are currently not the easiest place to reach at the moment.
‘We would love anyone who knows anything at all to get in touch with the police. We just want whoever did this to be caught and punished.’
The garage is covered by a number of CCTV cameras and Mr Graham said that officers were now examining footage.
Guernsey police said the incident occurred between 4 and 5am on Wednesday morning and appealed for any witnesses who may have heard or seen the incident, or anyone around the area at these times above to contact them.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the CID Investigation Department on 222 222 or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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