Posted on 01/29/2005 2:55:19 PM PST by mwyounce
CRESSONA, Pa. - An auto mechanic used a customer's sport utility vehicle to run an errand, left it in a parking lot with the motor running, then mistakenly took another running vehicle and returned to the garage, police said.
Police said after they informed Michael Brown, 47, that he had taken the wrong vehicle, he returned it to the bank, where the customer's vehicle was still running and unlocked in the parking lot, police said.
Brown mistakenly got into a pickup truck owned by Brian McHale, who parked two spaces from Brown's customer's SUV. McHale also left his truck running as he went into a bank.
State trooper John Powis said Thursday that he was unsure whether charges would be filed against Brown.
Neither the garage nor Brown has a listed telephone number. A woman who answered the phone at McHale's address said the bank called police when McHale noticed his car was gone.
Speaking of oops, forgot to list the source... Yahoo/AP News.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=816&e=4&u=/ap/20050129/ap_on_fe_st/auto_mechanic_s_errand
It was all the SUV's fault, it lured him to it...
my wifes grandfather from out of town my town 900 people, went to the store and brought home the wrong car, My uncle the county sherrif had to come and get the car back. what a way to start a wedding. no charges were filed.
my wifes grandfather from out of town my town 900 people, went to the store and brought home the wrong car, My uncle the county sherrif had to come and get the car back. what a way to start a wedding. no charges were filed.
Me either! All right all you mechanics out there, how widespread is this practice of using customer vehicles to run errands?
I had heard stories of different cars of the same make and model having identical keys. Don't know if it's true or not. Was this the case with your uncle, or does everyone just leave their keys in their cars in your town?
This is obviously Bush's fault...
He paid the mechanic to leave the SUV running so Bush could drill for more oil in Alaska...
signed...barbara boxer.
I know a businesswoman who was supposed to fly into a border town, pick up a car in the lot, and drive across the border to visit a Mexican factory.
She arrived in the lot, found a car matching the description she was given, but the key didn't fit.
"They gave me the wrong key, or decided to leave a different car." she thought. "Now, where would they put the key? Ah-hah! In the wheelwell in one of those magnetic boxes!"
So off in the car she went, across the border into Mexico. Needless to say, the folks at the factory were appalled when she got there; it was totally the wrong car, she had stolen a car and taken it across the border.
So back it went, freshly washed, with a full tank of gas, into the lot with the key back in the wheelwell, no worse for the wear excepting a few extra miles. Unfortunately, she forgot and left a nice sweater in the seat.
She always wonders what the owner of that car thinks...
small town very small crime rate very common practise, even house doors remain unlocked there
It was a lovely sweater! I gave it to my wife! :)
I can top that i pumped gas when i was a kid and put locking gas caps on the wrong cars never did know what happened
Reminds me of Ferris Buhler's Day Off, when they park Bueler's friend's car in the garage and the valet's take it for a ride.
If he hires me, the defense will be that it was a test drive to either a)test a repair or b) see if the customer complaint could be repeated (whichever the facts come closest to fitting). He left it running because he wanted the engine to get really hot as part of the test.
Ferris: Relax, these guys are professionals!
Cameron: Professional whats?
Ferris: Do you speak English?
Parking Attendant: Uh... what country do you think this is?
Or how much he already has. I for one, when I need a mechanic, use the yellow pages. What kind of a repair garage has an unlisted phone #? Odd. Very odd.
Typical PA state trooper, DUH.
It's called road testing, and we add $15.00 per mile to your bill.
Or the Seinfeld Dry Cleaners episode.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.