Auto Shop Owner Agrees to Settle Suit

The owner of a chain of auto transmission repair shops that once operated in Ventura County agreed Friday to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit by the district attorney’s office accusing him of fraudulent consumer practices.

The lawsuit filed last year by Ventura County prosecutors had accused Transking Inc. of, among other things, charging customers hundreds of dollars to rebuild transmissions unnecessarily.

Michael R. King, who sold his three Ventura County Transking shops after the lawsuit was filed, agreed to settle the case without admitting any wrongdoing.

He said he agreed to the settlement because he could no longer afford to fight the case.

“They destroyed my business--how much can you take?” King said in a telephone interview from his office in Arroyo Grande. “I had to sell everything I own to fight this thing.”

The investigation into Transking began several years ago when the Bureau of Automotive Repairs began receiving complaints from consumers about King’s company.

In 1990 and 1991, investigators sought estimates on transmissions that had been purposely altered so they had minor problems. In five out of six cases, the repairs done on those cars were unnecessary, officials said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory W. Brose, supervisor of his office’s consumer protection unit, said the violations at Transking were serious enough to justify a much larger monetary settlement, but the final figure was arrived at based on the company’s ability to pay.

Besides the monetary penalty, King agreed to have Transking placed under a court order that prohibits the company from making unnecessary repairs.

Transking still operates three shops in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.