Automotive Fleet has collected these "Strange but True" stories from fleet managers, drivers, and fleet management companies. Do you have a strange but true story? Something so incredible it couldn’t have been made up? Share your stories with Automotive Fleet; e-mail: Lauren.Fletcher@bobit.com. 

sales rep left a company on good terms. His company vehicle was transferred to his replacement who came onboard several months later. The new driver noticed intermittent electrical issues with the dashboard. The vehicle was also dirty.

After the vehicle was detailed, the dashboard went out completely. The new driver took it to a dealer for repair. The mechanic took apart the dashboard and found a kill switch had been installed.

The former driver had disengaged the odometer to avoid paying for personal mileage. During the vehicle cleaning, the detailer had somehow hit the kill switch. The higher, accurate vehicle mileage was disclosed at the term of the lease and the company took a significant hit at resale.

A driver brought her car in for repair because it was smoking. She told the vehicle maintenance representative she had just filled the oil so that couldn’t be the problem. When the rep asked her how low it was, she said, "Only 15 quarts and that’s not so bad." 

The rep gently instructed her to fill the oil only until the dipstick reads full, not until oil runs out of the valve cover. The driver remarked the inventor of that "dipstick thingy" was "real smart."

A department manager told the fleet manager the right front wheel bearing of his company vehicle was making noise. Without looking at the vehicle, the fleet manager scheduled an appointment to replace the bearing. The department manager was a good "shade tree" mechanic, so the fleet manager took him at his word. Within minutes, the repair shop called to report the vehicle was ready. The fleet manager asked how it was repaired so fast. The shop answered, "We took the rocks out of the hubcap."