Proud Mercedes owner outraged by where dealership worker took her car after she dropped it in to be serviced
A proud Mercedes owner has pressed charges against a dealership employee after finding out he was bar-hopping with her expensive ride.
Kimberly Porter had her Mercedes C300 towed to Mercedes-Benz of Collierville near Memphis, Tennessee, after it started idling on the interstate in December after a tank of 'bad gas,' she told WREG.
She had it towed to that dealership because she 'trusted' it, she told the outlet.
More than a month later she got a notification that her car was moving around 7pm on a Friday night.
From 7pm to 1am, she watched her car hop between different bars, including J Alexander's and TJ Mulligan's.
'That’s when I got up out of the bed and drove to TJ Mulligan’s in my loaner vehicle, and my car was sitting there,' she told WREG.
'At one o’clock in the morning, I’m sitting outside TJ Mulligan’s because he’s outside joyriding on a date with somebody else in my car.'
Using her spare key to access the vehicle, she confirmed the car was indeed hers. That's when she called police.
Kimberly Porter had her Mercedes C300 towed to Mercedes-Benz of Collierville because she 'trusted' the dealership
Her car sat with the dealership for more than a month when she got a notification that it was moving between 7pm and 1am. Dealership employee Derrick Nguyen is accused of using it to bar hop
'I’m thinking somebody stole my car from Mercedes,' she told the outlet.
Police found a coat inside the vehicle that belonged to Derrick Nguyen, a dealership employee, and had his driver's license and passport inside.
Police went into the bar and came back out with Nguyen in handcuffs, Porter recalled.
Nguyen allegedly told police he had permission to drive the car, but a dealership service manager said otherwise when contacted by police, WREG reported.
'He said: "No, he’s not supposed to be in your car," and so I said: "Yes, I would like to press charges," and that’s when they arrested him,' Porter said.
Nguyen was charged with theft of property.
Police also noted that Nguyen 'had the odor of intoxicating beverages emanating from him,' court records said, according to WREG.
Porter also alleged that the dealership called her the next day and told her to return her loaner vehicle and pick up her own car.
She found her Mercedes C300 (stock image) in the parking lot of a bar and called police, who arrested Nguyen
'They literally told me: "If you don’t have our loaner vehicle back here by 6 o’clock, we’ll report it stolen,"' she recalled.
The dealership also allegedly asked her to drop the charges against their employee, saying the man was 'a really good kid,' Porter said.
'I said, excuse me?' she told WREG.
The general sales manager allegedly told her that technicians test-drive vehicles all the time to diagnose problems.
'You do what all the time? You drive people’s cars all the time? You bar hop all the time? Like, it’s not ok,' she told the outlet.
'He wasn’t just test-driving it to see if it was working. He was out over five hours.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to the dealership and Porter's attorney for comment.
Porter also filed a civil case against Nguyen and the dealership.
The dealership, which still employs Nguyen, told WREG: 'We’re unable to respond because this is an active case. Once the case is settled and we have more details, we will be more than happy to address your concerns.'
