When you buy a used car — especially one that used to be a rental vehicle — you shouldn’t be shocked to find that the previous owner may have done a bit of work that wasn’t fully disclosed. But there’s a difference between a bit of Bondo and a half million dollars of cocaine stashed in the door panels.

But when a man in San Jose, CA, took the Chrysler minivan he’d purchased from Thrifty 15 months earlier in to get his brakes checked, that’s exactly what mechanics discovered.

“People make jokes — oh, you should have sold it,” the owner, who immediately contacted police after finding the massive amount of blow, tells the San Jose Mercury News. “But honestly, I’ve never been so scared in my life, even when I was mugged in New York.”

Making matters worse, when the man tried to take the car back to Thrifty to exchange for a vehicle that, ya know, isn’t loaded with nose candy, he says a manager would only pay him the Blue Book value, which was about $4,000 less than he’d originally paid.

Of course, once the media called up to inquire about this, Thrifty told a different story, telling the Mercury News that it would replace the van.

“I just want to get rid of the van. I don’t want it in front of my house,” its owner explains. “Somebody could just come and want the car and run me off the road. When I drive now, I’m always looking around.”

Chrysler van comes fully loaded — cocaine included [mercurynews.com]

Thanks to Paul for the tip!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.