KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasI-Team: Undercover Decoys Used in Las Vegas Mechanic Sting

I-Team: Undercover Decoys Used in Las Vegas Mechanic Sting

Keeping your car in good repair is about more than just keeping it running, it's about safety. Many of us rely on the recommendations of a local mechanic. To ensure we can depend on the people diagnosing our vehicles, state investigators went undercover to catch mechanics defrauding customers, one car at a time.

The sting was commissioned as a joint effort between the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the State Consumer Affairs Division and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Brake Team Statement

To catch mechanics in the act, investigators pose as customers seeking a brake inspection from a local franchise while hidden cameras roll.

"What can I help you with today?" said a mechanic to a state decoy, Rachel.

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"I heard you guys do free brake inspections and I thought I should get it looked at," she said.

Before testing the truthfulness of the Brake Team franchise, Robin Roques, Director of Automotive Technology at the College of Southern Nevada, determines what, if any, repairs are needed.

"The rear pads are nearing the end of their useful life. The front brakes are in great shape, there's nothing there to worry about," he said.

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According to Roques, only the rear pads need replacement.

But that's not what Jimmy said: "I'm going to want to suggest to replace them, but I understand how tight money is now a days."

Jimmy proposes machining the rotors, replacing the front and rear pads and flushing the brake system. Initial estimate, $484.

Brake Team Invoice From Store on Buffalo

Rachel balks at the price so Jimmy negotiates, "Let me see what I can do here to take good care of you." Jimmy considers a $100 drop in price on what Roques calls unnecessary repairs.

"It's just giving you a little bit more of a discount," he said. A discount on repairs Roques says the car didn't need.

It's the same argument he makes the very next day, at a different location, to a different decoy, driving the exact same car.

"Let me see what I can do for you. I want to take good care of you," he said.

At Brake Team's Rancho shop, Jimmy tells a second decoy named Arran the car needs front and rear pads. The rear rotors, he claims, can be machined. Though Jimmy told Rachel he could machine her front rotors, he tells Arran they must be replaced.

"You can definitely see they're starting to turn blue. Same on this side. We've got some really good scoring in there," he said.

Priced with a brake flush, the grand total is $730 -- more than $300 above the estimate Jimmy gave Rachel a day earlier.

Brake Team Invoice From Store on Rancho

But when the I-Team confronted Jimmy, he offers little more than a smile and a nod.

"I was told to inform you to talk to our general manager, Brian Dupuis, or our corporate phone number. They'll be able to answer any questions you have," he said.

Brake Team General Manager Brian Dupuis insists there is no effort on the part of his technicians or managers to rip off the consumer. He tells us Brake Team has launched its own internal investigation.

So what about Jimmy?

"He's working off the assessment given by the mechanic. It's based off the assessment. He has no way of knowing that it's the same vehicle," said Dupuis.

According to Dupuis, Jimmy doesn't even remember the vehicle in question.

The Attorney General has not yet taken action against Brake Team, though they say it's coming.

Tuesday at 11, we show you the results of the entire investigation and ask Brake Team to explain why state investigators were repeatedly told they needed services they didn't.

Email your comments to Investigative Reporter Colleen McCarty