Mercedes Benz tech stole customer's car to go on a date

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Wild-Examination-155@reddit

You aren't wrong lol. Dude is trying to flaunt a nice car out on a date and works at Mercedes. I think I would fuck around and go for something nicer if I'm doing something stupid already

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Spinnweben@reddit

... but you are squiffy like every day and just want to get laid. You take the nice but not the outside-of-the-credibility-zone car.

A real super car might get recognized or even stolen in that neighborhood where you could afford the restaurant for your date. Or afford the date.

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BerryFuture4945@reddit

Unless reverse psychology he’d think the G wagon in the shop for example would more likely be tracked.

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mini4x@reddit

There probably was a loaner or trade in car he could have taken that the dealer owned, that was probably a better car that a C class.

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elmariachi304@reddit

That was my thought. This guy coulda stole any car at the dealership that night and he choose the 4 cylinder base model compact sedan?

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elmariachi304@reddit

Wrong again, this is the USA. We don’t sell a C180 or 250 here. Haven’t for years.

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Years ago I had a high performance BMW and I left it at the dealership in New London, CT for some very minor bodywork (replacing a taillight that was collecting some water). Recorded the miles and fuel level and left it.

After a weekend and a couple days, the work was done, I picked it up and started driving home. Realized my CDs were not in the car and I stopped to look in the trunk. Then thought I must have left them at home.

Got home and found a french fry under the driver's seat. I NEVER ate in that car.

Did a little more digging and realized that the whole tank of gas was burned and about 300 miles were put on my car. I went fucking ballistic.

Made an appointment with the manager of the entire dealership. Said he'd reimburse me for the CDs but can't / wont do anything about the tank of fuel or the miles / abuse put on the car as some asshole joyrided in it for a weekend with crack hoes. Said I couldn't prove fuel level / miles, even though I recorded the miles at dropoff, with the key drop card, which I had taken a photo of.

Most infuriating part was that the fucker removed my kids' two car seats, and put them back in after the weekend of fun, without strapping them in tight. That POS was more concerned about covering his ass than about my kids' safety.

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tonynca@reddit

I wonder if there’s anything to be done in small claims court

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JonnyGee74@reddit

Not really, this was 20 years ago and it was my word vs. theirs. The solution was to never go back there again.

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hockeymisfit@reddit

Hopefully they throw the books at that kid, especially after the dealership staff tried to back him up. Techs and service writers driving cars home is very standard but obviously this is a different situation.

There was a porter at a Porsche dealership I worked at who had been taking a lava orange GT3(not a customer car) for joyrides on the weekend. Eventually he took it out to the bar on his lunch break and flipped the car after hitting a work truck at 100+ directly in front of the dealership. You can still see the mark he left on the k rail. The owner of the dealership ended up going after the guy for everything he could, including depreciation on the car for every mile he’d driven. He got hit with multiple felonies and shredded his arm when the car rolled and his window was rolled down. It’s shocking how many absolute morons get hired at these nice dealerships.

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SpiderMaynee@reddit

This sounds really familiar, does the Porsche dealer start with W?

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hockeymisfit@reddit

Great guess. You may be on to something 😏

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Word_Underscore@reddit

it’s because dealerships pay $11 an hour

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Domemstorg@reddit

Where do you work, rural Mississippi? On the coasts and most major cities, oil changers start at $20 or more. The guy sweeping the floor probably makes more than $11/hr.

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Responsible_Show1599@reddit

In all fairness Ford mechanics make more than Porsche mechanics. At least in the northeast

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L_Outsider@reddit

It seems mechanics get paid the same regardless of the brand, even exotic brands.

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Word_Underscore@reddit

Central Arkansas actually ((laughing))

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Voeno@reddit

I can attest to this. I worked at a Ford Dealership and salesman would take out brand new Mustang GT’s for the weekend and test drive literally cars with 0 miles and shit , dog on them all weekend and bring them back and sell them as new. Well one salesman a particular Friday morning took a GT out and within about 10 mins police showed up, turns out dude was arrested because he left the dealership and immediately gunned it hitting about 110 in a 30 just right up the road and morning cop was sitting there and immediately got his ass.

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mathaiser@reddit

Not a customer car, but some porters took some new mustangs to the lot where the old mal was. We’re doing donuts. Got caught.

The dealership said they wouldn’t press charges if the families bought the cars. Two kids parents did. One didn’t. He got in big trouble.

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k1ng0fh34rt5@reddit

That tech, and dealership are in the wrong. I hope that customer wins the civil suit, and that tech eats the charge.

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DiddyEpsteinSixSeven@reddit

You should probably give the dealership the benefit of the drive. Chances are he took it on a test drive after repair and led to this

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Background-Insect255@reddit

Chances are you didn't read the story

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Important-Ad3820@reddit

This is likely exactly what happened, but it’s the service advisor/service managers job to ask permission for an after hours road test. Our shop foreman’s will routinely drive home vehicle as a QA check with the clients permission.

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BuckManscape@reddit

Nah, they’ll probably make him governor at this point.

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External-Repair-8580@reddit

A few years ago I picked up my wife’s MB E63S Wagon from service at the local MB dealership. She took it shopping and asked me why it was full grass clippings and lawnmower parts when she returned home. Sure enough - it was indeed full of grass clippings and lawnmower parts. We don’t own a lawnmower.

A tech or dealership employee had clearly been using it for errands. They’d had the car for close to a month to replace a headlight.

I complained to a service manager who vowed to take action. Never followed up. Sold the car about 6 months later. Needless to say I won’t be buying another car from that dealer or taking cars for a service there.

My guess is: this happens all the time.

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costafilh0@reddit

This soldier was on a mission.

Was the mission a success?

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RelativeMotion1@reddit

I mean other than the dealer sticking up for the tech, there’s nothing particularly strange to discuss. This dude basically stole a car from work under the guise of test driving. Just because you intend to return something later on doesn’t make it less stolen. Pretty open-and-shut.

Dealers/shops do, occasionally, need to take home customer cars and drive them around. It’s done to try to duplicate extremely intermittent issues. Sometimes putting miles in and simulating normal use is the best way to catch an issue.

But again, this is rare, and you ALWAYS get explicit permission from the customer for this kind of thing. And you NEVER go out fucking drinking at a bar at midnight with it.

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46692@reddit

Intending to return it could matter.

I’m no lawyer but in Tennessee the charge he got requires intent to deprive the owner, I am sure if he goes to court he will argue that point.

I think it is obvious he wasn’t intending to deprive the owner, she would not have even known he was doing it if not for the gps.

Not saying he didn’t steal the car, just is an interesting court case potential.

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Dapper-Lab-9285@reddit

I know a place where the service manager took a way more expensive customer car for a weekend road trip. Customer was obviously pissed but nothing happened to the manager

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tanneruwu@reddit

This is why I randomly check my GPS when dropping my car off for service. If there ever comes a time when it leaves the dealership lot without my knowledge it will instantly be reported as stolen.

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UnmakingTheBan2022@reddit

r/fuckcarsales

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Freshspike@reddit

C300 AMG…

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tricky4444@reddit

My buddy was a salesman and he'd take out a cls63 most days for lunch. Car was a sexy beast.

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maybach320@reddit

“C300 AMG” dude if you’re going to “barrow” a car from work at least take take something better than a C class

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aloganvanherroy@reddit

I thought the direction this was going in was that a C300 AMG doesn't exist. AMG line is not an AMG.

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maybach320@reddit

My original thought was that the rear had an AMG badge but from the photos I realized it had the AMG body kit

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ntotrr1@reddit

Many years ago, the son of a close friend bought his first car - a new Monte Carlo. He worked long and hard to save for it. Soon after getting it home, the transmission failed because it was extremely low on fluid. It went back to the dealer and took months to replace the tranny. My friend's son was at a diner one afternoon and when he left, he saw his car leaving the parking lot. He had vanity plates on it so there was no mistake that it wasn't his. The car pulled onto the street and someone hit the rear quarter panel. The dealer wouldn't own up to it and told him he had to go through his insurance. His dad knew some excellent lawyers and forced the dealer to give him a new car.

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st3v3one@reddit

Back in the day. I had a friend who was the service manager for a high end car dealership. His brother's lived in Los Angeles, and on the weekend's we would go out to visit them and bar hop. He told me he would tell them they had to put a certain amount of miles on the vehicle, to make sure the issue is taken care of. We would then drive those cars to LA to party. If a customer brought back a rental on a Friday, he knew it wasn't being picked up until Monday, and we would take those cars too. Reading this makes me realize how lucky we were that nothing ever happened.

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rofloctopuss@reddit

Back in the early 00's two techs from the Acura dealership I was at took a customers NSX out for the night and were pushing it hard on the highway when the owner just happened to pass the other way. Apparently they were just pedal to the floor when he spotted them. They both got fired the next day

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B0OG@reddit

He took “I got mad friends with benzes” a little too seriously

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mini4x@reddit

Test drive for proper functions.

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DJMagicHandz@reddit

Shame on Mercedes Benz of Collierville for not owning up to their negligence.

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yloduck1@reddit

I dropped my Jeep off at a body shop a couple years ago. Just getting some minor repairs done. It came back to me with an extra 100+ miles on the odometer.

I was pissed but there really wasn’t much I could do other than complain to the manager - who was likely the one doing the joyriding

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Tyraid@reddit

I’m not even mad

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Fit_Equivalent3610@reddit

They literally told me, ‘If you don’t have our loaner vehicle back here by 6 o’clock, we’ll report it stolen,'” she said

lol, absolute fucking scumbags. I bet these guys are doing tax fraud too, IRS should check it out,

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EquivalentWafer2651@reddit (OP)

i legit checked their page and offered free routine maintence to the first 10 people that shows them the news article...

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obviously8t@reddit

This probably happens very often. Coworker of mine said she picked up her Infiniti and there was a baby seat in the back. Obviously used for an errand.

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apaulogy@reddit

gotta test drive it!!