That’s what Carlos Tomas wanted when he dropped off his red sports car at a detailing shop in Scarborough.

“Where did they take my car?” Tomas said in an interview. “And for what purpose? What if it was involved in an accident somewhere?”

Later, when toll charges for the 407 ETR arrived in his mail, Tomas, with the Star’s help, dug into a story that for many will conjure references to the 1980s flick Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , when Ferris and his friends, playing hooky from school, took a Ferrari for a joyride.

Five days later, his seven-year-old Mazda RX-8 was ready. There was just one problem: There were 449 more kilometres on the car than when Tomas dropped it off.

Against better judgment, Tomas returned to Avenue with the second Mazda, this one an RX-8, the next week on June 1. Before turning the keys over to Kuganesan, Tomas snapped a photo of his odometer.

When the car, which had some body work done at a shop around the corner as well as detailing from Kuganesan, was returned to Tomas, he noticed damage to the front grille. He asked if something happened, but according to Tomas, both the body shop and the detailer denied responsibility.

That’s when he met Rajevan Kuganesan, or “Mikey,” who was running a detailing business out of the small garage in an industrial complex at Kennedy Rd. and Lawrence Ave. E.

In May of this year, he had two red Mazdas he was preparing to sell. On a recommendation, Tomas took the first one, a Mazda 6, to a Scarborough detailing shop called Avenue Rentals and Detailing.

Tomas, 59, has been around cars all his life. He is president of Shifters, a Toronto training facility devoted to teaching people how to properly drive manual transmission vehicles.

“My eyes went straight to the odometer,” Tomas said. “It was a very simple agreement: He details the car and I pay the bill. I didn’t expect 449 kilometres on it for a detailing job.”

Confronted by Tomas with the photos showing the discrepancy in odometer readings, Tomas recalls Kuganesan was adamant the Mazda had not moved from the shop area the entire time. He had not loaned it to anyone, nor had he rented it out. (Later, Kuganesan repeated these denials to the Star.)

Incensed by the lack of an explanation from Kuganesan, Tomas called police.

The officer suggested the two duke it out in small-claims court.

Tomas was disappointed the police did not take up the case. He remained concerned with his car’s whereabouts those five days in June.

“Am I going to get a ticket in the mail next for somebody running a red light?” Thomas told the Star. “What if the car was used for illegal purposes?”

A month later, proof that the RX-8 had indeed been taken for a long ride while in the care of the detailer arrived in the mail.

A bill for $45.60 from the ETR Highway 407 shows the vehicle was twice driven on the toll highway on June 2, the day after Tomas dropped it off for cleaning. The vehicle got on at McCowan Rd., in Markham, at 7:51 a.m. and drove west across the GTA, exiting at Derry Rd. in Mississauga.

Less than two hours later it was back on the ETR at Highway 401 and Ninth Line in Mississauga. The car was driven east to Scarborough and it left the toll road at Kennedy Rd. for a total of 112 kilometres driven.

There are still another 337 kilometres unaccounted for. Tomas contacted officials at 407 ETR and was told the photos snapped when the Mazda entered and exited the toll road do not identify the driver.

Tomas then contacted the Star for help and returned to Kuganesan’s shop with a reporter posing as his friend. Tomas brought along the ETR bill.

Kuganesan was in no mood to explain.

“So your point is?” Kuganesan said, as Tomas showed him the ETR tickets. “I’m not wasting my time now cause I got s--- to do,” Kuganesan said, reminding Tomas that he had not fully paid his bill.

Tomas had paid $120 for the Mazda 6’s cleaning, but refused to pay for the second car’s detailing until he received a satisfactory explanation. Tomas notes that in addition to the unauthorized mileage, the gas gauge on the RX-8 was one-third lower when he picked up the vehicle.

As the Star watched, Kuganesan hopped into a black Hummer he had been washing, and drove off.

Ministry of Transportation documents show Kuganesan, 28, should not have been driving. His driver’s licence was suspended on Jan. 27, 2012, after he pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a breath or blood sample after being pulled over by police.

And when his licence is reinstated, on Jan. 27, 2015, any car he drives must be equipped with ignition interlock, a condition normally imposed on people convicted of serious drinking and driving offences.

The Star returned to Avenue, this time identifying ourselves as reporters, explaining we were seeking an on-the-record interview with Kuganesan about the mysterious events involving Tomas’s car.

Kuganesan arrived at the garage driving a Toyota Camry with Quebec plates. He denied Tomas’s car moved more than about 50 metres during its five-day stay.

“What are you, a f-----g spy?” said an indignant Kuganesan in response to further questions. “You can write anything, whatever you want. I don’t want to talk to you.”

When asked who has access to the keys, he said:

“Everybody has access to the keys. We hang the keys here,” he said pointing inside the garage. “We’re not responsible for anything that happens,” said Kuganesan adding he does a lot detailing for car dealerships.

The Star made several more attempts to interview Kuganesan as more details emerged. The Star tried to contact him at his work and home, and a letter with a series of questions was given by the Star to his lawyer, Timothy Kinnaird.

The Star asked Kuganesan if he could comment on Tomas’s allegations. Why was he driving if his licence was suspended? Could he elaborate on his relationship with a man named Gerald Pinch, who holds the lease on the shop, and is currently in federal prison on drug trafficking charges?

Why is he detailing cars out of a garage the City of Toronto says is not licensed to do so? And, could he address Tomas’s allegations that both his cars were tampered with while in his possession?

In a faxed letter to the Star, lawyer Kinnaird answered “No” to each of the questions. A meeting the lawyer said he would try to arrange between his client and reporters fell through. Kinnaird cited a scheduling conflict.

The Star found Kuganesan’s cellphone number on numerous Kijiji and Craigslist ads heralding a slew of businesses, including used car sales, home renovations, mobile boat cleaning, auto tinting, painting and windshield repairs. In all of those ads, he goes by the name “Mike.”

The Star researched the detailing shop and here is what we found:

On its website, Avenue Car and Truck Rentals, at 180 Nantucket Blvd., unit 5 (the same location where Tomas dropped off his car) claims to be the GTA’s “premier car rental agency.” It not only rents and sells cars but offers “car detailing” services,” the website says.

But Brandon Pinch, president of Avenue, explained he has nothing to do with Kuganesan’s operation, which is at the same location and is an independent business detailing cars, called Millenium Auto and Marine Detailing.

Brandon Pinch told the Star he is very upset with Kuganesan and plans to sever his relationship with the man at the end of the month.

The landlord of the industrial complex where Avenue is located said the lease for unit 5 is actually in the name of Brandon’s older brother, Gerald Pinch, a man currently in prison. Gerald is the general manager of a company that owns Avenue. Brandon Pinch acknowledged that Kuganesan worked with his brother Gerald in the past, detailing cars.

Gerald Pinch was among more than a dozen people arrested in 2009 in Operation O’Flyer, a 10-month, multi-police-force investigation into the trafficking of cocaine and other drugs. Pinch was convicted of possession and conspiracy to export ecstasy in 2011, and is currently serving a six-year prison term. He faces a lifetime ban on the possession of firearms when released.

According to Toronto’s Municipal Licensing department, Avenue Car and Truck rentals is not licensed to operate as car rental agency and the location on Nantucket Blvd. is not licensed be a detailing shop, either. An application for a detailing shop was submitted in July 2013, but turned down due to zoning concerns, the city says.

“Nobody should be doing any detailing at that location,” said an analyst with the licensing department.

Meanwhile, Tomas remains perplexed. All he wanted was a good detailing and a wax job.

He says he photographed the odometer on the RX-8 sports car because he suspected the Mazda 6 had been driven somewhere and brought back with damage.

It begs the question: Why would he take a second car to Kuganesan for detailing if he was not happy with the work done on the first one?

“I just didn’t want to be taken for a fool,” Tomas said. “I just had this burning inside … OK, I’m gonna find out … It was like a bait, really, let’s see what happens with this one.”

After several follow-up calls from Tomas, Toronto police recently took a full report.

Dale Brazao can be reached at dbrazao@thestar.ca or (416) 869-4433