Long gone family car. Credit Ayto Benamaurel
A British family in Andalucia handed over a car for what they thought was a straightforward ITV check-up job. Almost two and a half years later they still have no car, no refund and a paper trail that now only points towards an inevitable future court date.
Bernie and Earl say they trusted a British mechanic in Benamaurel, Granada Province, in April 2024 to get their Mercedes ready for Spain’s compulsory ITV roadworthiness test. What followed, they say, was a transfer to an officially recognised Mercedes workshop in Guadix, thousands of euros of work they never authorised, an insurance claim opened with Earl’s personal details without permission, and months of each party pointing at the other. Earl, a construction worker, now has no choice but to do the family Lidl run on an electric scooter. That shop feeds two adults, two teenagers, four rescue dogs and three rescue cats.
How an ITV job turned into 29 months without a car
April 2024 was meant to be a routine hand-over. The Brit mechanic took the car “in good faith for ITV-related work,” the family say. By June they were told it had to be taken to a main dealership. They later concluded that step was not necessary. Transfer went through an insurance process using Earl’s personal details, which he at no point signed over, and which he says he was misled into agreeing.
October 2024, according to the family, the mechanic took €1,000 under false pretences. That money went onto a workshop account without Earl’s authority and has never come back. Late 2024 into early 2025, they say, roughly €4,000 of work was billed in Earl’s name without his knowledge. The dodgy mechanic acted as go-between while the owners were shut out of decisions about their own vehicle.
Bernie puts the clock plainly: “the car arrived at a Mercedes workshop Guadix 26 months ago, after almost three months with the first mechanic. We have therefore been without the car for approximately 29 months altogether.”
Spanish workshop and Brit mechanic still point at each other
The paperwork, the family insist, is awkward for everyone involved. Earl had been put on the register as the owner in the dealership’s internal system, and as the official client since December 2023, although he signed nothing. Decisions, authorisations and costly work still went through a third party and without his knowledge or permission.
April 2025 brought a written line from the Mercedes workshop in Guadix, via Mercedes-Benz Spain, that they had been misled by the mysterious British mechanic and that he bore responsibility. After that letter, the family say, the dealership still refused key documents on “data protection” grounds, kept the disputed €1,000, and left the car on its property. Mercedes-Benz Spain and Mercedes-Benz Germany have since said responsibility sits solely with the workshop and is nothing to do with them. Neither the British workshop owner, nor the Guardix taller have been contactable by telephone for comment in recent months.
The Brit mechanic, they add, has “effectively gone to ground.” In February 2025 he opened an insurance claim through the insurance company using Earl’s details without any consent. Findings from that claim were later used, the family say, to try to wash his hands of the matter in OMIC proceedings.
A complaint was then made against the family. They had to attend a police station and rely on their 12-year-old daughter to translate. They believe parts of that complaint were falsified.
Trusting a local professional because he speaks English
Professional expats on the coast are many, and the majority are pros, providing exceptional service, and are easy to communicate the nuances of what the customer needs and wants. But, inevitably, amongst the flock there’s always a black sheep giving everyone a bad name. One that promises the earth and delivers nothing. Cowboy traders whom we are left wondering if they really wanted to move to Spain, or they just weren’t wanted back home anymore.
Some, because of the language difficulties, know there is a captive market in Spain of expats who are not 100 per cent with the lingo, and can easily fall into the trap of trusting a slippery character who claims that not only does he know the language, culture and laws perfectly, but that he will help bridge the gap for you. Among the gems, there’s always a rotten egg who ruins it for everyone – and keeps the cash, of course.
Earl’s employment has taken a hit without having a proper vehicle. Official routes have already been used: OMIC, the Junta de Andalucia and the data protection agency. Advice now is that judicial proceedings may be the only route left.
What Spanish garage law actually requires
Spain is not a free-for-all if you know the rules. Workshops must give a written estimate, a deposit slip when they take the keys, and an itemised invoice. Authorised work is supposed to come from the owner, not from whoever happens to be chatting in English in the waiting area.
Consumer offices exist for a reason. Andalucia’s official path starts with a hoja de reclamaciones, then OMIC (OMIC is the local town-hall consumer office, or Oficina Municipal de Información al Consumidor) or Ministerio de Consumo if the workshop dodges a proper answer. Junta guidance is here: Reclamaciones – Junta de Andalucia and Como presentar una reclamacion.
ITV itself is a separate, tightly policed test, not a blank cheque for a mate-of-a-mate to disappear with your keys. Recent EWN reporting on inspection integrity includes Bribes, arrests and unsafe cars: ITV scandal rocks Spain. Damage during an official inspection has its own liability rules, covered in Who takes responsibility for vehicles damaged during an ITV?.
Trust, language and the risk of betrayal
Plenty of British residents in Spain still put their trust in a familiar accent when a car needs work or their house needs repairs. That shortcut can feel safer than a Spanish-only taller where maybe not everything is fully understood. This article is a reminder that a shared passport is not a professional qualification, and that “I’ll handle the dealership for you” can become a wall between owner and workshop.
None of this article finds the British mechanic, Guadix workshop or insurance company guilty in a courtroom. It reports what the family say they can document: unauthorised work, money that did not come home, a car still sitting in Guadix (somewhere), and a family man left doing the big shop on two wheels.
Bernie is not asking for sympathy. She wants the keys to her car, the €1,000 handed over in confidence, and a straight answer about who authorised what after Earl was already placed the books as client without his knowledge. Until a judge or a workshop manager breaks the deadlock, that car and work on it remains a very expensive local story in Granada province.
New Developments2 weeks ago
Uncategorized2 weeks ago