We brought the car in for repairs... and now it's a write-off

AN ANGRY couple told yesterday how their car was written off during a garage test drive after it went in for repairs.

Susan Cruickshank, 29, of Aberdeen, booked her Ford Focus Ghia into a service workshop for replacement brake pads and a brake disk on Monday.

But when the mother of two called to check on progress, staff said she would need to speak to the boss. Minutes later, the manager called her back to tell her the family car had been written off.

She said yesterday: "The manager said they had fixed the brake pads, but there had been an accident. Someone from the garage had taken our car out for a test drive and crashed it head-on into another car."

Mrs Cruickshank and husband Richard headed straight for Tyre Services in Altens Industrial Estate to check on the damage. Their car was a wreck.

She added: "The guy there said our car was in, but it was just a mess.

"The whole front of the car was just gone. The passenger door didn't open properly and just hangs off.

"Underneath the car, everything was gone and the stereo inside no longer worked.

"That car was in mint condition. It was absolutely immaculate. It fully passed its MoT."

The couple were forced to cancel plans to take their two children to Edinburgh Zoo this week.

And they fear that any compensation they are entitled to will not cover the cost of a similar new car.

Mrs Cruickshank said: "We just moved house and increased our mortgage knowing the car was fine and we wouldn't need a new car.

"We shouldn't have to go down to a 20-year-old bucket because our car was written off."

Charles Munro, 26, was the mechanic at Aberdeen firm Tyre Services who took the car for a drive. But he crashed it in a head-on smash and ended up being arrested.

Munro, of Aberdeen, was taken into custody after the collision on Monday and charged with driving with no insurance while disqualified.

The mechanic admitted both charges when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court the following day.

Tyres Services owner Brian Brechin said he was "gutted" that the couple had lost their car.

And he said it came as a complete surprise to find that his mechanic, who had worked at the garage for a number of years, had been banned from the road.

He said: "The mechanic fitted them, had lunch, then took the car for a test drive to bed in the brakes. A woman turned out of an opening and he hit her car.

"Unbeknown to us, he lost his licence in May," said Mr Brechin. "It's only because of the accident that we found out."