It's not uncommon for car repairs to turn into a costly headache, but Louis Denory's experience with a local repair shop can easily be described as a nightmare.
As the Brooklyn man shared with CBS New York, his Ford Flex was held hostage for nearly two years by an auto repair shop that refused to return it. After an accident in April, 2023, Denory's SUV was towed to A9's Automotive in Brooklyn. That shop later changed its name to State to State Automotive, but kept the same management team.
Meanwhile, Denory says he spent months trying to get his vehicle back while the shop offered excuse after excuse. "They would give excuses, talking about 'Oh, the parts, there was a delay on the parts,'" Denory shared with CBS. "And then the guy talking about he had a death in the famiy... and nobody knew where the car was."
While the shop stalled, the city of Brooklyn apparently knew exactly where Denory's SUV was. After receiving more than $2,000 in fines, Denory learned that his vehicle had been illegally parked down the street from the body shop for months, collecting parking ticket after parking ticket.
This sent Denory on a mission to get his SUV back, and CBS News New York's Tim McNicholas was there to help.
As the days turned into months following his accident, Denory couldn't get a clear answer on when his vehicle would be fixed. And then the fines started showing up in the mail.
By August, 2024, a judge ruled that State to State Automotive was responsible for paying the parking tickets, but the shop still hasn't paid the fines. Denory and McNicholas went to State to State's shop around this time to ask about the SUV.
"Where's this guy's car?" McNicholas asked a man at the shop, to which the man replied, "We don't have a Ford Flex here."
In October, 2024, Denory finally tracked down his vehicle, which was at a parking lot near the auto shop. But when he arrived to take it back, Denory was met with more bad news -- the SUV wouldn't start, had flat tires and a truck was blocking the exit to the lot.
When he demanded his vehicle back, Denory said an unidentified worker brought up "storage fees."
"I'm not paying no storage. I don't care what you're saying," Denory said. "Then you're not getting the car back," the man replied.
Later, Denory and McNicholas revisited the lot and found someone had moved his vehicle closer to the exit. With help from his insurance company, which sent someone to jumpstart the vehicle and pump up the tires, Denory was able to drive his SUV home for the first time in 20 months. But the fight apparently isn't over.
Denory still doesn't know if his vehicle was properly fixed despite Geico Insurance's claim that the shop cashed the $6,000 check to cover the repair costs. He is now working with the sheriff's office to try to get the funds from the shop for the unpaid parking tickets.
The Department of Motor Vehicles is also investigating State to State Automotive, though they declined to offer details.
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Denory finally has his Ford Flex back, but other customers of the same auto shop say their vehicles are also being held hostage. No one wants to experience this kind of frustration, so what can you do to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation?
You can start by checking out the auto repair shop's online reviews. After that, extend your research to the Better Business Bureau, where you can see if the shop has any negative complaints. If anything in your research gives you pause, find another auto shop in your area and conduct your research over again.
When you land on an auto shop that's earned your confidence, request a written estimate that includes the costs, as well as a projected completion date before agreeing to the repairs. This can help you hold the shop accountable if things go wrong.
These steps can help you avoid Denory's fate, but sometimes all the research in the world isn't enough to prevent you from doing business with an unscrupulous company.
If you ever happen to find yourself in a similar situation to Denory's, you can always file a complaint with the BBB or another government agency, such as the Division of Consumer Protection, the AG's office or your state's version of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
You can also take legal action. In extreme cases like Denory's, you may need to get legal assistance, and if hiring a lawyer is too expensive, you can always take the issue to small claims court.