Ok heres the story, took my truck to the mechanic yesterday, come to pick it up today and theres a ladys purse in the front seat. First off, Im pissed, why was a female using my car when its only males working there?

Not sure what to do, do I return it to the mechanic? Which I was thinking of doing but what if its stolen? Plus I rather them call me and explain why a purse was in there then me just go there and them explain. So then I thought to go into the purse get her ID and go to her house(its an old lady), but my gf told me thats a bad idea. Thought about going to the police, but theres no cash in there, just credit cards and a checkbook, so if cash was stolen, dont want them to think I stole it, and deal with that whole situation. Should I hold on to it for acouple days to see if the mechanic calls back? I know Im probably overthinking things, just not sure what route to take, Im not going to keep or take things from it because thats messed up and wouldnt want the same done to me.

 

Call the shop and tell the manager what happened and get the lady her purse back. Its not her fault. The mechanic may have wanted to test drive it and gave her a ride in the process.

You should always write down mileage before taking your ride in.

 

Yea, your right, I should of wrote down my mileage, the fuel light was on when I got it back, so must been driving for awhile. IF they did give her a ride it was hard for her to forget about the purse, its decent size and was the first thing I noticed when I came into the car, was right next to the driver seat. Only way I think she could of missed it if it was dark out, considering they close at 6pm and it was nice and bright out at that time.

Also just noticed she still left her verizon blackberry charger still plugged in. So I assumed she used it for the night. Still think the mechanic should call me if its missing and explain, if they dont they know it was pretty shady to do that, its not my fault. Might just keep it in the car for acouple days so she has to cancel all her credit cards and get new IDs, especially with july 4th coming up.

 

Why do you want to punish her because of something that might not be her fault? The suggestion to speak to the service manager and explain what happened and also voice your displeasure with your car being used for what might have been a joy ride would be the route to take. Either way, get the purse back to the lady.

 

- Drop purse off back at the shop.

- Don't go back there again.

- Write bad Yelp review.

Case close.

 

Disclaimer: I'm not an attorney, so I can't guarantee I'm 100% correct regarding the legal points I bring up.

By retaining possession without the owner's consent, you are now opening yourself up to being arrested and charged with theft / possession of stolen property. The best thing to do is call the police immediately to report it and turn it in, and discuss with the responding officer the potential illegal use of your vehicle (you did not consent, so it could be counted as grand theft auto). Obtain a copy of the police report - if anything happened (like a red light camera etc.) the report + your repair bill will be your defense.

PROTECT YOURSELF - no one else will.

By all means, tell everyone you know about this incident - and exactly which shop was involved.

 

Thanks for the advice, after I cooled down, I just took it to the police shortly after posting. Rather not deal with the mechanic. Could been stolen for all I know. ID came back to an 89years old, 5ft tall, that lives in a nursing home. She would of needed alot of help to just get into my Jeep nevermind drive it, especially when the charger was from a blackberry or other smartphone. Then again she could of just been an athletic, hip high tech granny who knows. Ah well, thanks for the replies.

 

Even if you give the mechanic every benifit of the doubt sounds like he used your car outside the shop without your permission.