Jump directly to the content

A MOTORIST was stunned after dashcam footage showed a member of garage staff take his sports car for a joyride - and brag about "raggin' it".

Iain Inglis, 47, had his luxury Mazda RX-8 picked up at his home following a routine airbag recall.

 Motorist Iain Inglis was left astonished when he found footage of a garage worker taking his Mazda for a joyride
4
Motorist Iain Inglis was left astonished when he found footage of a garage worker taking his Mazda for a joyrideCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
 Iaian claims his Mazda's highly-responsive rotary engine was damaged in the incident
4
Iaian claims his Mazda's highly-responsive rotary engine was damaged in the incidentCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

But after it was dropped back off at his house Iain was stunned when he checked what had been recorded by the hidden camera.

The clip, which Iain has put his own captions on, shows the Japanese sports car being "red-lined" by a worker overtaking traffic and pumping loud dance music out of the stereo system.

He claims the Johnsons Mazda worker damaged the car's highly-responsive rotary engine.

At several points in the video a beep sounds to indicate the car has exceeded its 9,000 revs per minute limit while being driven around the roads of Swindon, Wilts.

While in the workshop, Iain says dashcam shows excessive and unnecessary use of the throttle, which he interprets as a worker "showing off" and a comment can be heard about "raggin' it".

The dealership has apologised for the "regrettable" incident on June 26 last year which resulted in an internal investigation and subsequent disciplinary action of the member of staff involved.

 Mazda's secret dashcam shows the worker flooring it on the drive from Iain's home to garage
4
Mazda's secret dashcam shows the worker flooring it on the drive from Iain's home to garageCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
 The secret dashcam footage also captured garage employees working on vehicles at Johnsons Mazda in Swindon
4
The secret dashcam footage also captured garage employees working on vehicles at Johnsons Mazda in SwindonCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

Service engineer Iain is now asking for free work on the car which goes beyond a compensation package he originally agreed to several months earlier.

He said: "Once I had shown the footage to the general manager he apologised and offered a free service.

"In the end we agreed on four wheels refurbished, full fluid change, excluding oil, and a Mazda used car warranty.

"The car also had a compression test to see if the engine had been damaged. The compression was below Mazda's stated limits, but they are refusing to carry out any engine work."

Mr Inglis says he is now struggling to sell the car, which he originally bought second hand with 4,000 miles on the clock.

He values the vehicle at £2,500 with the engine problem, which he claims has wiped around £1,000 off the price.

The dealership said: "During the investigation, we carried out a number of tests on the engine which all failed to highlight any damage to the engine when compared to tests prior to the event.”


We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368