There is an old bit of car buying advice that says show up to the dealer when they are ready to close, as the salespeople will cut a good deal because they want to go home. If you try this method make sure someone knows you are there, so you don’t get stuck for hours like one Boston area family.

According to , Jennifer Rivers and her husband brought their three daughters car shopping when they they showed up at Bill Deluca Chevrolet at 6 p.m. on Friday night. They didn’t know that the dealership was closing at the time and the dealership staff was not aware that the Rivers had just pulled in. The gate was locked and the Rivers were stuck inside.

They called the Haverhill police department that managed to contact a a cleaning contractor inside the building, but he did not have a key to the gate. The attempted to contact the dealership manager who wasn’t available.

“He wasn’t there,” Jennifer said. “Said somebody would be there in 20 minutes, and 20 minutes was every 20 minutes for three hours.”

The family tried to make the best of the situation by siting in unlocked cars, posting pictures to Facebook, and the girls sang pop songs, but after the first hour they had had enough. Bored and desperate to get home for the evening, Jennifer’s husband went to the Hampton Inn next to the dealership and borrowed a Sawzall from a construction worker. With permission from the police, he went to work and broke the lock. As soon as the family was free, a security officer showed up with the keys. He was apparently inside the building the whole time.

“We’re like, ‘Really?...We could have used that two hours ago.”

The family is still waiting on an apology and the dealership did not respond phone calls from the local Fox news affiliate. For those of you that plan on car shopping right before the dealer is about to close, Jennifer Rivers has this bit of advice to share -

“Pack a cooler...Make sure you have bolt cutters just in case and park near the entrance.”