CRANBERRY TWP — Deceptive business practices and other charges police filed against the owner of the Oilology auto repair shop in the township were held for court at a Friday preliminary hearing.

District Judge Kevin Flaherty ordered three of the five charges Cranberry Township police filed against shop owner Keith R. Smith, 69, held for Common Pleas Court.

Charges of criminal mischief, deceptive business practices and criminal use of a communication facility were held for court. Assistant district attorney David Beichner withdrew theft by deception and receiving stolen property charges.

Uwe Volquarts testified he took his 2011 Cadillac STS to Oilology in 2022. It remained there for most of the next three years. He estimated he had possession of his vehicle for 10% of the time during the three-year period.

He said one of Smith’s employees damaged his vehicle by backing it into another vehicle. That damage was poorly repaired and the steering problem he initially took the vehicle in for was not fixed.

When he finally went to pick up his vehicle last year, he said he had to have it towed because it wouldn’t start.

“No repair was made,” Volquarts said.

He said he took his vehicle to the shop sometime in 2022 because the rack and pinion steering wasn’t working.

He picked up his vehicle, but “the rack and pinion blew” on the drive home. He said he took it back to the shop that day, but the problem was never fixed.

“It happened seven more times,” Volquarts said.

Over the years, he said Smith would periodically ask him for money to pay his employees. He said he paid Smith about $4,000.

Volquarts said Smith fixed some problems, such as replacing brake lines, brakes and tires.

He said the vehicle wouldn’t start when he picked it up, but Smith was not supposed to work on the engine.

Electrical work such as repairing the back up sensors in the rear bumper that Smith’s employee damaged was not done. Additionally, the paint work on the damaged fender was shoddy, Volquarts said.

He said the driver’s seat also needed fixing, but the shop replaced it with a seat from a different vehicle that didn’t have all the features his original seat had.

He said he texted Smith every other day over the three years to get updates on his vehicle, but he never got a response.

Officer Jeremy Norton said when he saw Volquarts’ vehicle, it had a small dent and scratches on the rear bumper, paint repair that didn’t match the original paint color and parts that should have attached were inside the vehicle.

He estimated the cost of the damages at $7,000.

Norton said Volquarts did not provide him with receipts or documents showing that he paid Smith.

Smith has been charged in numerous similar cases, and others alleging he rented customers vehicles to other people over the last several years.