Woman took Mercedes for repair then never saw it again until 3 years later in a field

  • This Memphis woman inherited a classic Mercedes-Benz 190E
  • She took it to a shop for repairs, and months passed by
  • The car was found 3 years later in the strangest of places

Published on Aug 04, 2024 at 5:13 PM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja

Last updated on Aug 05, 2024 at 6:54 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Nalin Rawat

Imagine you own a rare and classic Mercedes and decide to get it serviced, but you never see it again for three years – as horrifying as this may sound, it actually happened to a woman from Memphis, Tennessee in the US.

This is going to be a heartbreaking story if you’re a car enthusiast because nobody likes to be parted from their cars.

And yes, there are lawyers, investigators, and the police involved — so you better buckle up.

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Memphis woman got a new Mercedes and took it in for repairs

Kathy Lofton inherited her father’s beloved four-door Mercedes-Benz 190E sedan and wanted to preserve it for the memories.

It’s the same model, the 190E, that ASAP Rocky owns — although his car is modified to the T.

There was only one thing wrong with Lofton’s Mercedes, which was a broken ignition, and only her father knew how to get it working.

So she did what anyone would do — take it for a repair, hoping it would be a simple fix.

Little did she know she wouldn’t get to see her ride for a long time.

She handed in the car to a workshop in July 2021 and paid $1,500 as an advance.

Jobs like these normally would take a week or two, but several weeks, then months passed, and she didn’t hear from the shop.

Her calls went unanswered, and the owner would make excuses if she went there in person.

She resorted to seeking advice from lawyers but they couldn’t help her.

Getting separated from her beloved car

The police told her they couldn’t legally do anything because she gave the shop her car voluntarily.

This was certainly a tricky situation and especially hurtful because Lofton was separated from her car.

Had she gotten her car back, she could have driven it for a long time, although not as long as this woman, who had driven the same car for 48 years.

After several months, she heard that the owner sold the entire shop to someone else.

That land had been cleared out with no signs of the car.

This is where a news channel called WREG News Channel 3 got involved and volunteered to track her car down using drones.

The news channel reported the entire thing in a YouTube video and shone light on the events.

They decided to visit the new owner’s home, where his wife told them that the Mercedes had been delivered back.

After more time searching, the news channel found the car at another workshop.

It was parked in a field and might just be considered a barn find like this abandoned Rolls-Royce Wraith.

After a lot more conversations, Kathy Lofton got her Mercedes back, but she is still hoping to get the $1,500 deposit refunded.


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Siddharth Dudeja

Siddharth is a tech nerd with a secret love of all things cars. He has been writing for a few years now, and on his free time you would find him gaming when he's not procrastinating.