Possibly the Best Reason to Have Your Vehicle Serviced by an Accredited Dealer
A Houston man says his Lexus went missing after the local auto repair shop, which he entrusted to fix his car, closed without notice. Returning to the mechanic to make a prearranged twice-monthly payment, he noticed an eviction notice and a completely empty parking lot.
“I’m thinking this guy has stolen my car,” said Randy Exom of the mechanic after being unable to find his automobile.
According to KPRC2, Exom had gone to Houston’s On Site Auto Repair on January 19th to make an installment for work being done on a used Lexus he had purchased in November. When he arrived to see a barren parking lot and shuttered workshop, he believed the owner, Shawn Gee, had stolen his car.
“Everything was going fine up until I came there to make a payment and there was an eviction sign posted on the door, and the regular cars that were in the lot weren’t there anymore,” Exom explained in an interview.
After calling the owner of the repair shop looking for answers, he said it was explained to him that the business had moved locations but wasn’t given an exact address — just the name’s two intersecting streets. Looking into that second location, Exom uncovered this is not the first time a car had gone missing while under the Gee family’s care.
Last fall, KPRC2 reported cases of cars missing from the second location too, which is run by Shawn Gee’s brother. Gee worked there prior to opening his own shop and appears to have returned now that it is closed.
Exom found his car on Friday after nearly a month of searching. It had been impounded and will cost him $800 to get out of the lockup. Many of the other missing cars turned up there as well.
“My thing is my car was in your possession and you should have made some type of contact with me and say, ‘Hey this is what’s going on, sir,'” said an annoyed Exom.
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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My "accredited" dealer story was years ago having my Ford Thunderbird serviced. When I got it back, the window was split in two. I don't mean a hairline crack, I mean it look like it had a beveled edge down the middle. Clearly, someone had dropped something really heavy on it or worse. Dealership refused to take responsibility, said I must have brought it in that way. Decided to simply run it through my insurance rather than suing the dealership over it.
Sometimes the Customer brings this on them selves IMO : . In the 1990's my Brother took his old & battered 1979 VW Diesel Rabbit to an Indie VW Shop in Glendale, ca. because " it shakes too much " (he meant engine vibration) ~ it was filthy but ran perfectly and had five brand new tires . . As he was dropping it off he told the Service Writer " no hurry, whenever you get to it if that will save me money " . . I grabbed his arm and said " Idiot ! they'll never fix it now ! ". He ignored me and a YEAR LATER got a telephone call from the Glendale police telling him his car was impounded..... . We drove by the impound lot to retrieve his vanity tags and discovered a bare shell with wheels ~ when they removed the driveline they'd chopped right through the main harness, the grimy and worn out seats were gone ~ everything . . I always tell people that when you think you've saving$ by telling the shop/Mechanic ' work on it in your spare time ', what they hear is " I don't care if I never see this piece of junk again " ~ NO EXCEPTIONS, EVER . . Anyone in The Auto Trade or who's had Classic Car body work done can tell you horror stories . . I have Dealer stories too but this isn't the place for them . . CAVEAT EMPTOR ! . . -Nate