‘Massive ego’: Dealership service manager takes customer cars on joy rides, whistleblower told ‘to be quiet about it’

Allegations of misconduct at a car dealership service department have surfaced online after a whistleblower claimed a service manager routinely takes customer vehicles for personal use and faces no consequences because the department is profitable.

In a Reddit post, a user asked how to anonymously report a service manager who allegedly “continuously takes” customers’ cars for personal use and has racked up repeated complaints. According to the post, the behavior has been an open secret inside the dealership, but leadership has failed to intervene.

Meanwhile, the post adds the service manager “has had sooo many reports against him,” but the owner does nothing cause the department makes money. “Turnover is quite literally 1 in 1 out every week,” the post says.

The whistleblower described a workplace culture in which employees feel powerless to challenge management, “He has a massive ego, and everyone sees what he does wrong, but when it gets presented to leaders, they are told to be quiet about it,” the post stated.

A common problem

One commenter said the Reddit post reminded them of a viral video showing a mechanic allowing an employee to use a customer’s truck for a personal move. “I was wondering about this the other day after seeing a video about a mechanic letting one of his employees use a customer’s truck to move, I’m talking dishwasher and stuff move,” the commenter wrote.

Others questioned whether customers can explicitly limit how their vehicles are driven during service. One response suggested consumers proactively add language to service agreements.

“Can we as consumers get a stamp or write out something on any agreement to service that says something like ‘I consent to the operation of this vehicle only for the requirements of service,’” the commenter wrote, adding that any test drives should be “strictly of a diagnostic nature” and not used to transport people or goods unrelated to repairs.

“Maybe if he gets into an accident, it will change the dynamic,” another comment said. “A carefully worded Google review would definitely get their attention,” another suggested.

Discreetly film “your manager driving off”

Regardless of how management reacts, using customer vehicles for personal errands or non-service-related activities may violate company policy, insurance agreements, or even local laws, depending on the circumstances. Most dealership service contracts limit vehicle operation to repair-related purposes, though enforcement varies widely.

Some responses to the Reddit post about the joy-riding service manager took a more confrontational tone, urging covert documentation of the alleged behavior. One commenter suggested, “Start discreetly filming your manager driving off,” with people’s cars. “Follow him all the way to his home,” the comment added. Then give the video to the car’s owner, the post said.