Auto-Repair Shop Loses Hummer, Couple Says
(CBS) – A Waukegan couple is asking where their vehicle is after bringing it to a repair shop. It's gone, and no one seems to know what happened to it.
CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reports.
"We took a $20,000 vehicle there and nobody knows where it's at – no one," says Maurice Hood.
The upgraded 2003 Hummer was his dream car.
When the car stopped running in March 2016, Hood and his wife, Keiya, brought it to the AAMCO Transmissions in Waukegan for a needed part.
"He said it was going to be like $3,000, and I was like ... I can't afford that," Hood says.
AAMCO agreed to store the car on the lot as the Hoods made periodic payments.
"This wasn't our idea -- this was his idea. Because there's no way we leave our car there that long if they tell us not to," Maurice Hood says.
Earlier this month, the Hoods came up with the money. Days later, when they planned to get their car, they were told it was gone.
"I was devastated," Keiya Hood says.
Attorney Matthew Abrams represents the Hoods. He says "something nefarious" took place with the vehicle.
"More likely than not, the car does not exist in its current condition. My guess is it ended up in a chop shop," he says.
Waukegan police consider this car a stolen vehicle and continue to investigate.
AAMCO says an independent franchisee owns the Waukegan shop, which will work with the Hoods to file an insurance claim.
The Hoods' attorney says a lawsuit is possible.
Parent company AAMCO's full statement to CBS 2:
"According to the local AAMCO franchise, they agreed to retain the vehicle in their care and custody for an indeterminate time as a customer courtesy and were unaware that the vehicle had been removed from the premises without their knowledge or permission. They have agreed to provide their customer with relevant insurance information in order to facilitate a claim for the missing vehicle through their insurance carrier. Our company will continue to work with the franchisee to facilitate a satisfactory resolution between the consumer and the insurance carrier."