Man says dashcam captures Palo Alto mechanic joyriding in his car

Katie Marzullo Image
ByKatie Marzullo KGO logo
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Man says dashcam captures Palo Alto mechanic joyriding in his car
A man says his dashcam captured a joy-ride in his luxury car after he dropped it off at a Suth Bay dealership for repairs.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A man says his dashcam captured a joyride in his luxury car after he dropped it off at a South Bay dealership for repairs.

The owner said he just wanted a response from Audi Palo Alto and to let other people to know what was going on there and it appears he got what he wanted.

The owner of the car, Brian Thornton, says the man behind the wheel is an Audi Palo Alto employee. Thornton is accusing the employee of joyriding and speeding.

Mark Noble is a customer at Audi Palo Alto. He says he'd be very irritated if it were his car.

"Spend a lot of money on these cars and the last thing I would expect is somebody taking it out for a joy ride," said Mark Noble a Palo Alto Audi customer.

Dennis Roth had already seen the video. He works on his own Audi.

"Calls into question how thorough their background checks are on their employees," Roth said.

Audi owner Pamela Pike is skeptical.

"That could have happened, but honestly, most mechanics are pretty well certified and I honestly think the guy may have made up a little bit of a story," Pike said.

"We immediately began our investigation and have already taken action. We are working with the customer involved and have thanked them for bringing this matter to our attention," Audi Palo Alto said in a statement.

Mark Noble says he's taking his car in for service next week. When asked if the video changed his mind about going to Audi Palo Alto, he said "probably not, but I'll ask them about it."

He says he's always had good service there.