A California woman left her Audi Q5 at a Santa Monica repair shop to have two minor leaks fixed. The following evening, the SUV crashed into a concrete barrier nine miles away, reportedly while the shop’s manager was driving it after closing.
Alicia Good says she never gave anyone permission to take her Audi home. By the time she learned about the crash, the damaged vehicle had already been towed back to the business.
Good has shared photographs and videos of the wrecked SUV on social media, describing the collision and her efforts to get the shop to replace it.
Her Audi was 13 years old with approximately 68,000 miles. More than a month after the crash, she was still driving a rental car and waiting for an offer.
An Extra Night at the Shop
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@alicia.goodPart 4: Storytime! The manager of my mechanic shop totaled my Audi Q5 after hours, 9 miles from mechanic shop.♬ original sound – Alicia Good
Good brought her Audi to A&E German Car Service on Thursday, September 3, after a dashboard warning indicated a fluid problem. She told the Palisadian-Post that she used ChatGPT to compare repair quotes before choosing the shop, which had favorable reviews and had been operating for decades. She expected the repairs to be straightforward.
When the business asked to keep the vehicle an additional night, she agreed.
According to Good’s account, the shop’s manager took the Audi after closing on Friday. Around 8:15 p.m., approximately two hours and 15 minutes after the business closed, the SUV struck concrete K-rail barriers along Palisades Drive in Pacific Palisades.
The Palisadian-Post also reported that emergency responders transported the driver to UCLA Health Santa Monica Medical Center. Good told the newspaper he was later released.
Photographs show the Audi’s hood crumpled, the front bumper torn away, and mechanical components exposed. Good says the force of the collision split the engine.
Good said a crash expert who examined the damage estimated the Audi had been traveling between 90 and 100 mph, although that speed has not been independently established.
The Call That Came Saturday
Good says the shop owner knew about the crash by approximately 9:15 p.m. Friday but did not contact her that evening.
She began calling the business Saturday morning to ask when she could collect her Audi. Employees repeatedly told her someone would get back to her.
Around 2 p.m., the owner finally called and told her there had been a single-car accident involving a barricade.
Good described seeing the damage in an October 14 interview with FOX 11. Her hand was shaking, she recalled, as she looked at the crushed front end and the vehicle’s distorted structure.
During that visit, she says the owner made a promise.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to get you the same car, but lower mileage,” he told her, according to Good.
Her immediate reaction was “good luck.” Her Audi was already 13 years old with just 68,000 miles.
Good said she subsequently heard four different explanations about what happened to her vehicle.
A Rental, but No Replacement
The shop arranged a rental car approximately a week after the collision, allowing Good to get around while the dispute continued.
“It’s now been a month. I still don’t have an offer,” she told FOX 11 in October.
FOX 11 attempted to speak with the owner of A&E German Car Service, but he was unavailable. Employees declined to explain why the vehicle had been driven miles away from the business, saying the matter was being handled by the shop’s insurance company.
Good also contacted police about the incident. She told FOX 11 that officers questioned whether the circumstances constituted grand theft because she had originally entrusted the Audi to the repair shop.
California Vehicle Code Section 10851 prohibits taking or driving a vehicle without its owner’s consent under circumstances covered by the statute. Good maintains that permission to perform repairs did not include taking her SUV home.
A Warning for Other Drivers
Good has since encouraged vehicle owners to photograph their odometers and document their cars’ condition before leaving them for service.
She also recommends putting a tracker on the keys and another inside the vehicle, with notifications when the car leaves the repair shop.