Dealership Gifts Electric Car to Woman Who Found Racial Slur on an Oil Change Sticker from a Different Dealership (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Makayla Starks cries beside fiancé Joey Koepp after receiving her new car from Family Nissan.Photo:Courtesy Makayla Starks

Courtesy Makayla Starks

Makayla Starks found a racial slur typed on an oil change sticker after she got her car serviced in January at Kunes Buick GMC in Oak Creek.

“While they were supposed to be servicing my car, apparently, an employee typed up a racial slur [the n-word] and put it in the comment section of my oil change sticker. They adhered that to my windshield,” Starks, 33, tells PEOPLE, noting she didn’t see the slur until later that day.

“I sat in my car and cried for 20 minutes,” the Milwaukee resident adds of her reaction after noticing the slur emblazoned on the sticker.

Kunes Buick GMC later apologized to her in person, fired the employee who typed the slur and issued a lengthyapology on Instagramafter she told her story to the media and the story spread online.

Makayla Starks cries beside fiancé Joey Koepp after receiving her new car from Family Nissan.Courtesy Makayla Starks

“My fiancé [Joey Koepp] and his friends, who are all members of The People’s Revolution Milwaukee, which is an activist group for Black Lives Matter and Black rights, they all encouraged me to go to the media and just to make the community aware that, ‘Hey, this is the type of people who are being employed here,' " Starks explains.

The activists and local residents then protested in front of the dealership. Weeks later, on March 1, Starks received a new car from another dealership —Family Nissan in Inwood, N.Y.— after ownerRamzey Rizkheard the couple’s story broadcast on the news in mid-February.

“And then you hear somebody say, ‘Let’s give her a free car.’ And then you hear somebody say, ‘Not just any car, an electric car.’ And then I ask, ‘Why an electric car?’ And they said, ‘Well, because she never has to get an oil change again,’ ” he continues.

The new car that Family Nissan gave to Makayla Starks.Courtesy Makayla Starks

On March 1, Rizk and Family Nissan gifted Starks a new Nissan Leaf in person after the dealership contacted her attorney to arrange it all.

“It’s funny,” Starks, a poet, tells PEOPLE about learning she was receiving a new car. “My attorney’s words were, ‘Hey, I have an opportunity for you, or I guess someone who’s interested in doing something for you.’ And I was thinking, ‘Oh, great, more media interviews.’ ”

“And then he’s like, ‘No, someone heard your story. They want to give you a car.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God. Seriously?‘ I was in disbelief. I was like, ‘Seriously? For real?’ And he’s like, ‘Yes, very real.’ ”

Makayla Starks’ keychains.Courtesy Makayla Starks

“We want to be unequivocal: this behavior and the hateful sentiment it implies are absolutely against our values as a company. There is no place for racism or discrimination within our dealership or community,” the apology shared on Feb. 9 continued. “This incident stands in stark contrast to who we are as a company. We recognize the seriousness of this matter and accept our responsibility to ensure a safe, welcoming environment for every person who walks through our doors.”

The dealership added that they were “addressing this with our entire staff,” “reinforcing our corporate values” and “conducting a thorough internal investigation to determine if anyone else played a role in this incident.”

Now, for Starks, she wants to focus on the positives.

“After this incident with the Kunes dealership, I could absolutely walk around with the attitude that people are terrible and nobody likes me,” Starks tells PEOPLE. “[But instead], I’m just trying to focus on people who are supportive and any good that has come out of this.”

source: people.com