CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Cranberry Township Police have arrested and charged the owner of Oilology, a mechanic shop off of Route 228.
Police say the owner, Keith Smith, was using customers’ cars as loaners as other customers were getting their cars fixed, and it’s not the first time.
“It’s sick to my stomach stressful,” a recent victim told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek. “It’s bad.”
That victim, who asked to stay anonymous, owns a 2011 Suzuki Kazashi. He said the last few months have been nothing but frustration.
He said he dropped his car off at Oilology in June to get a new flex pipe and tires. Then he said there were more issues with a damaged transfer case.
“He was a good friend, so I didn’t expect him to do this to me, even though he has his past,” the victim said.
He went back and forth with Smith for months about his car’s repairs. Police said there are nearly 400 texts between the two.
“Once a week, once every other week, just checking to see if he test drove my car, and he kept just putting it off, saying ‘Yeah, I’ll go do it today,” the victim said.
Several times, the victim said he would go by the lot and notice his car was missing.
In September, he got a toll bill from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and learned his car had been loaned out to another customer. Police said that the customer drove to the Somerset area in August.
They also said traffic cameras show the victim’s car being used throughout Butler and Allegheny Counties between June and September, putting nearly 5,000 miles on his car.
The victim also said his car had damage that was not there prior to him taking it to Oilology in June.
There was a crack in his windshield. He just replaced that on Monday.
On top of that, there are dents on the side of his car, issues with the bumper, and stains and dog hair inside the car.
He also said he is missing a set of speakers that were in the trunk that belonged to a friend who recently passed away.
“It went from like, brand new looking to worse than junkyard material,” the victim said.
This isn’t the first time Smith has had similar complaints against him.
Channel 11 reported on charges against Smith in March 2023. Police said there were at least 11 previous victims, and Smith is currently on probation for those prior charges.
“There’s a lot of people who he’s done it to and sit there and go, ‘Wait, I didn’t have those thousand miles extra. What happened?’ For people like that, that’s why I want to push it more,” the victim said.
The victim said he wants to see Smith and Oilology shut down.
“If he opens another shop somewhere, if he continues staying open, he will not learn his lesson,” he said.
Smith remains in jail and a hearing is set for December 5.
The victim who spoke with Channel 11 is asking anyone who may have had their car serviced at Oilology and believes their car was used as a loaner, had damage, or other issues to contact Cranberry Police.
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