Be Careful At The Mechanic: They Might Be Illegally Loaning Out Your Car

It seems as if everyone and their uncle has a story of a disastrous trip to the mechanic. There are tales of being overcharged, of mechanics not completing the repair they were asked to do, or just scamming their customers completely. However, a new story out of Pittsburgh may take the cake for the most ridiculous thing a mechanic has done with a driver's vehicle.

Keith Smith, the owner of Oilology, a mechanic shop in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania was arrested by local police after he was caught giving out customer vehicles as loaner vehicles to other customers. One victim of the car-loan scheme said he dropped his vehicle, a 2011 Suzuki Kazashi, off at Oilology in June. Unfortunately, he found even more issues once his vehicle was officially returned to him, including an extra 5,000 miles on the odometer.

Unfortunately, this is far from the first time Smith had been caught loaning out customer vehicles. "There's a lot of people who he's done it to and sit there and go, 'Wait, I didn't have those thousand miles extra. What happened,'" the anonymous victim told local WXPI 11 News. The victim also told the local news station that he was a good friend of Smith, "so I didn't expect him to do this to me, even though he has his past."

With the victims having to deal with less value on their vehicles, more miles, and more wear and tear, the owner of Oilology is currently in jail and awaiting trial. The vehicle loan scheme went beyond just one anonymous victim, as there were 11 previous victims that Oilology owner Keith Smith is on probation for. That probation stems from charges against Smith from March of 2023.

Smith had a hearing just recently on December 5, where he was told he would be allowed out of jail on bond after a probation violation hearing from the 2023 charges. However, once released, Smith will be forced to wear a monitor, will not be allowed to conduct any business, and must stay away from the Oilology property. The Oilology property has a closed sign on it now and the landlord plans to sell the property. Smith was asked by local news if he knew "what you were doing was wrong." He responded with "absolutely not."

This isn't the only time a mechanic has been caught driving or loaning out a customer's car. A woman in Australia purchased her dream car, a Ford Focus RS, and brought it into a local mechanic for a new temperature sensor. She later found dashcam footage of the mechanic taking the vehicle to McDonald's and parking it overnight in his driveway. While there was no criminal punishment in this situation, it still shows how careful you need to be when choosing the right mechanic. 

There are a number of ways to prevent mechanics from taking your vehicle on a joy ride and renting it out to other customers. One easy way to stop this from happening is to let the mechanics know you are aware of the exact mileage on the vehicle you're dropping off. This will ensure that, if anyone does borrow your vehicle, you have evidence of it happening. Take a picture of the mileage before the drop-off, just to be on the safe side.

You can also add an Airtag to your vehicle so you always know of its location. By placing an Airtag in your vehicle you will have access to its location at all time, and this will help notify you if your vehicle is not where it's supposed to be and is being driven by an employee or loaned out to other customers.

Many modern vehicles have smartphone integration, and it's possible to track your vehicle using your phone. Manufacturers like Tesla offer nearly full control of vehicle functions from the Tesla app, meaning you can track the vehicle's location, turn it on and off, and even change climate controls just from your phone. Similar to using an Airtag, this will allow you to have constant knowledge of your vehicle's whereabouts. While these suggestions can't physically stop a mechanic from driving or loaning out your vehicle, it can give you some reassurance that you'll always know where your vehicle is.