COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County woman is calling for an investigation into a local auto repair shop, she says is shaking customers down for thousands of dollars.
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Ila Scott says the owner of the Vining’s Auto Repair shop on Cumberland Parkway charged her nearly $3,000 to repair a Mercedes Benz sprinter van. The problem Scott told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln, the auto shop never repaired the vehicle.
Scott told Lincoln she didn’t give the owner authorization to make repairs and at the time had only given approval for a diagnostic check.
“I’m just really disgusted,” said Scott.
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When she confronted the owner, Scott says she demanded she pay her $1,400 before she would return Scott’s van. Scott eventually paid the money and took the car to a Mercedes Benz dealership. There they confirmed the van was never worked on.
Automotive expert Bill Rimmer says vehicle owners should do their research, get a second opinion before doing business with an auto shop, and ask for written estimates before repairs.
“Those people are taking advantage of a system that’s on good will,” he said.
Lincoln spoke with the owner Shaquilla Jackson over the phone, she did not want to be recorded and declined to do an interview but said the allegations were false.
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Channel 2 Action News looked on Google and discovered more than 100 complaints. One review said, “The bill was $1,000… no one called to authorize the work.”
The Georgia Attorney General’s Office says five complaints have been reported to their office on similar allegations. One man says the company held his car for four months, after being billed $4,000 on unauthorized repairs.
The Secretary of State’s office website shows under the business’s name Vining’s Auto Repair Garage, its license hasn’t been renewed since 2019.
However, there was another license under the acronym of V.A.R.G. Repair LLC. That license was registered in 2024, after being unlicensed for the last three years under the same owner’s name.
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