PHOENIX (CBS5) -
How many times have you dropped your car off at the dealership to get serviced? You'd never expect to find out the car you're waiting to pick up has already been driven off the lot by somebody else.
"Needless to say I was livid. And still am," Ralph Esten said.
Esten is the more vocal one of the pair, but it was his wife Bobbie Esten who dropped her Jeep Patriot off at Bill Luke's dealership near I-17 and Camelback Road Friday afternoon.
"Just for the regular oil change. My paperwork came back to the counter and I was ready to pick up my vehicle, and they could not find my vehicle," Bobbie Esten said.
Workers turned the dealership upside down looking for Esten's Jeep, but no dice, it was already gone.
"At this point we have to assume it has been stolen," Bobbie Esten said.
"I tell you what, I've been here for years and this is the first I've ever heard of anything close to this happening," Bill Luke Sales Manager David Mitchell said.
Bill Luke has plenty of security on site with cameras on every corner and a security guard working 24 hours a day. But Bobbie Esten said they just leave the keys in the car's ignition, which means anybody could walk up and drive it off the lot.
"I did contact our general manager and he assured me that every effort will be made to take care of the customers," Mitchell said.
The good news is the dealership is willing to play ball with the Esten family. They filed a police report and are scouring that security footage to find out what happened. But the reality is they still let somebody steal Esten's Jeep.
"I just want my vehicle back so I'm hoping the police do find my vehicle and I can just drive it away," Bobbie Esten said.
She has that emotional connection to her car. Her husband is a little bit more of a businessman.
"I'm a reasonable man, replace the vehicle with something comparable, or better is OK too," he said.
Mitchell said the company will also review procedures to see if they should be doing anything different to protect customers.
Copyright 2012 KPHO (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
